Novel injectable and in situ cross-linkable hydrogels of dextran methacrylate and scleroglucan derivatives: Preparation and characterization

► Novel injectable and in situ cross-linkable hydrogels were prepared. ► Dextran methacrylate and native or carboxymethylated scleroglucan were employed. ► Both Scl and Scl-CM improved the mechanical properties of DEX-MA hydrogels. ► The new hydrogels were harder, more elastic and easy to work with than DEX-MA ones. ► These systems were able to modulate the release of biomolecules with different Mw.