Highlights

A temperature and pH-responsive hydrogel was easily injectable at appropriate site.

The SCS hydrogel showed fast gelation and efficient release of small particles.

The SCS hydrogel exhibited good biocompatibility and biodegradability.

The SCS hydrogel can be controllable to release drugs at adequate time and site.

Abstract

Drug-loaded hydrogel-based controllable drug delivery systems (DDS) have received considerable attention since they may overcome the drawbacks of conventional drug administration. The desirable hydrogels can be injected in any part of the body and are easily-available. To develop DDS, a succinylated chitosan (SCS)-based hydrogel was manufactured using facile and water-based conditions. This ideal and ecofriendly hydrogel showed rapid gelation and efficient release of gold nanoparticles (GNP) as representative small particles and drug substitutes. Moreover, the SCS hydrogel showed outstanding GNP release at low pH, with 100% degradation after a week at a pH of 5.5. Additionally, the drug release rate of SCS hydrogel could be controlled by adjusting succinylation and temperature. The SCS hydrogel exhibited good biocompatibility for applications in DDS. On the basis of these advantages, the SCS hydrogel can be used as a drug-loaded vehicle, which can be released at the appropriate time (important for cancer and inflammation treatments) and injected at the appropriate site.