Metallo-alginate hydrogel can potentiate microwave tumor ablation for synergistic cancer treatment

Abstract

Microwave ablation (MWA) as a local tumor ablation strategy suffers from posttreatment tumor recurrence. Development of adjuvant biomaterials to potentiate MWA is therefore of practical significance. Here, the high concentration of Ca ²⁺ fixed by alginate as Ca ²⁺-surplus alginate hydrogel shows enhanced heating efficiency and restricted heating zone under microwave exposure. The high concentration of extracellular Ca ²⁺ synergizes with mild hyperthermia to induce immunogenic cell death by disrupting intracellular Ca ²⁺ homeostasis. Resultantly, Ca ²⁺-surplus alginate hydrogel plus MWA can ablate different tumors on both mice and rabbits at reduced operation powers. This treatment can also elicit antitumor immunity, especially if synergized with Mn ²⁺, an activator of the stimulation of interferon genes pathway, to suppress the growth of both untreated distant tumors and rechallenged tumors. This work highlights that in situ–formed metallo-alginate hydrogel could act as microwave-susceptible and immunostimulatory biomaterial to reinforce the MWA therapy, promising for clinical translation.

Abstract

Abstract

A metallo-alginate hydrogel is designed to potentiate MWA treatment by working as MW-susceptible and immunostimulatory agents.