Preparation and evaluation of a temperature-responsive methylcellulose/polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel for stem cell encapsulation

Cell delivery therapy holds great prospects in regenerative medicine. However, low cell survival and retention are still the main problems in current studies. To address these challenges, a temperature-sensitive hydrogel suitable for cell encapsulation was developed by mixing methylcellulose (MC) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution simply in this work. Based on the physical hydrogen bonds between MC and PVA chains, porous hydrogels with excellent water-retention ability were achieved at 37 °C. The hydrogels exhibited superior performances such as fast-gelling, stable modulus, great injectability, and high light transmittance. Additionally, cell viability analysis showed MC/PVA hydrogels were cytocompatible. More importantly, cell encapsulation experiments demonstrated that rabbit adipose-derived stem cells (rADSCs) cultured within the MC/PVA hydrogels remain in high viability. Taken together, these results indicated the potential of MC/PVA hydrogels as a clinically translatable delivery system for stem cells. •The MC/PVA hydrogels were developed via a simple and environmentally friendly method.•Fast curing at 37 °C was achieved.•The integration of MC and PVA resulted in excellent injectability.•The MC/PVA hydrogels were biocompatible and suitable for cell encapsulation.