Hydrogels as controlled delivery systems for cardiac repair and regeneration.

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide, from which myocardium infraction (MI) is the most common one. Treatment of MI patients is difficult mainly due to the limited regeneration capacity of the heart, derived from the low proliferative activity of cardiomyocytes. Moreover, local administration and retention of therapeutic molecules is also difficult to be executed in a constantly beating heart, making the development of delivery vehicles that can retain therapeutics at the damaged heart tissue, and release them at a sustained rate, an unmet clinical need. Herein we review recent advancements in the development of polysaccharide-based and supramolecular hydrogels designed for cardiac repair and regeneration emphasising their application as delivery vehicles for various drugs, bioactive compounds (e.g., peptides, growth factors, genetic material, etc.) and biologics (cells, secretomes, etc.) to provide their sustained local release (or improved retention and survival of delivered cells) enhancing therapeutic outcomes and minimising off-target and side effects.