A novel alginate/gelatin sponge combined with curcumin-loaded electrospun fibers for postoperative rapid hemostasis and prevention of tumor recurrence

Surgical resection of the tumor remains the preferred treatment for most solid tumors at an early stage, but surgical treatment often leads to massive bleeding and residual tumor cells. Therefore, a novel alginate/gelatin sponge combined with curcumin-loaded electrospun fibers (CFAGS) for rapid hemostasis and prevention of tumor recurrence was prepared by using an electrospinning and interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) strategy. The present results show that alginate/gelatin sponge display excellent hemostatic properties and possess more advantages than commercial gelatin hemostasis sponge. More importantly, CFAGS could control the release of curcumin, inducing curcumin to accumulate at the surgical site of the tumor, thereby inhibiting local tumor recurrence in the subcutaneous postoperative recurrence model. In addition, the sponge was safe to implant in the body and did not cause toxicity to normal tissues and organs. This approach represents a new strategy to implant a dual functional sponge at the postoperative site as an adjuvant to the surgical treatment of cancer.