Hydrogel-Based Microspheres for Intra-Articular Osteoarthritis Therapy: Multifunctional Carriers for Drug Delivery and Cartilage Repair: A Comprehensive Review

🎖️ Top 10% JournalSep 11, 2025International journal of nanomedicine

Hydrogel Microspheres for Joint Osteoarthritis: Carriers for Medicine Delivery and Cartilage Healing

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Regenerative Health on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Abstract

Hydrogel-based microsphere systems may enhance the efficacy of intra-articular therapies for osteoarthritis.

can improve localized drug delivery compared to systemic administration.
Challenges in sustaining effective drug concentrations and cell viability within the joint cavity are addressed by these systems.
The microspheres facilitate and targeted delivery of therapeutic agents to diseased tissues.
They have applications in cell therapy that may enhance the survival and functionality of injected cells.
Hydrogel microspheres enable the co-delivery of bioactive molecules, which may further support cartilage tissue engineering.

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Intra-articular therapy has long been a key focus in the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA), with both intra-articular drug injection and cell therapy offering significant advantages over systemic administration due to their superior local therapeutic efficacy. However, several challenges remain, including difficulties in maintaining effective drug concentrations within the joint cavity, limited survival and functionality of injected cells, and the inability to accurately target drugs or cells to diseased tissues. To address these issues, hydrogel-based microsphere systems have recently been developed as carriers for drugs, cells, and bioactive factors, enabling more precise and efficient intra-articular therapies. This review summarizes recent advances in for intra-articular injection and classifies them according to their functional properties. From the perspective of drug delivery, we discuss their roles in , cartilage penetration and targeting, stimulus-responsive release mechanisms, and inherent pharmacological activity. From the perspective of cell therapy, we explore their applications in cell delivery and cartilage tissue engineering, including their ability to enhance cell viability, maintain stemness, and enable the co-delivery of bioactive molecules. In conclusion, hydrogel microspheres represent a promising strategy for improving the efficacy of intra-articular treatments in osteoarthritis.

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Abstract

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