The Role of Alginate Hydrogels as a Potential Treatment Modality for Spinal Cord Injury: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature

OBJECTIVE: To comprehensively characterize the utilization of alginate hydrogels as an alternative treatment modality for spinal cord injury (SCI). METHODS: An extensive review of the published literature on studies using alginate hydrogels to treat SCI was performed. The review of the literature was performed using electronic databases such as PubMed, EMBASE, and OVID MEDLINE electronic databases. The keywords used were “alginate,” “spinal cord injury,” “biomaterial,” and “hydrogel.” RESULTS: In the literature, we identified a total of 555 rat models that were treated with alginate scaffolds for regenerative biomarkers. Alginate hydrogels were found to be efficient and promising substrates for tissue engineering, drug delivery, neural regeneration, and cellbased therapies for SCI repair. With its ability to act as a pro-regenerative and antidegenerative agent, the alginate hydrogel has the potential to improve clinical outcomes. CONCLUSION: The emerging developments of alginate hydrogels as treatment modalities may support current and future tissue regenerative strategies for SCI.