Smart cellulose-derived magnetic hydrogel with rapid swelling and deswelling properties for remotely controlled drug release

Although cellulose hydrogels are one of promising biomaterials for drug release carrier, their passive manner of drug release and the absence of remote stimuli response limit their further applications. Herein, we report a simple one-pot method for the synthesis of magnetic β-cyclodextrin (β-CD)/cellulose hydrogel beads, which exhibited rapid swelling–deswelling properties under an external magnetic field (EMF) to remotely control drug release from passive release to stepwise release. The grafted β-CD endows the hydrogel with high drug loading capacity and, simultaneously, the incorporation of Fe3O4 nanoparticles provide the force for stepwise drug release through EMF induced rapid and reversible deformation of 3D network. We demonstrate that the efficiency of the hydrogel in the stepwise drug release dose and rate can be controlled by switching on–off the EMF and adjusting the content of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Additionally, results from cytotoxicity tests confirmed the excellent biocompatibility of the developed hydrogel, which is promising to be used in the biomedical field.