Preparation and application of a novel pH-responsive linalool carboxymethyl chitosan hydrogel

Abstract Cervical cancer ranks as the second most common female malignancy after breast cancer. The present study investigated inhibiting the growth of HeLa cervical cancer cells. A novel pH-responsive carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) hydrogel was prepared by free radical polymerization and then loaded with a linalool/water Pickering emulsion. The experimental results showed that the hydrogels had a high swelling rate and excellent pH responsiveness and provided sustained release of linalool. In terms of in vitro cytotoxicity, the hydrogels were biocompatible with HeLa cells, but the linalool-loaded hydrogels showed good antitumor performance against HeLa cells. The pH-responsive linalool-loaded CMCS hydrogels prepared in this work released a significant amount of linalool in the acidic cervical environment, thus inhibiting HeLa tumor cells. These data implied that linalool CMCS hydrogels may have good application prospects in the treatment of cervical carcinoma. Graphical Abstract