Advancement in the Biomedical Applications of the (Nano)gel Structures Based on Particular Polysaccharides

Abstract

The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/mabi.201900187. Nanogels (Nano)gels from macromolecular compounds-natural, synthetic, or a combination thereof, suitable crosslinkers-and conferred characteristicssuch as degradability, size, charge, amphiphilicity, responsiveness, and softness-are capable of responding to the challenges imposed by bioengineering applications. Polysaccharide-based gels have received particular attention in this field. This review addresses recent advancement in the use of (nano)gel structures prepared only from compounds based on gellan gum, heparin, chondroitin sulfate, carrageenan, guar gum, galactose, or agarose, which represent an important part of the special class of natural polymers, the polysaccharides. Also, future trends are taken into discussion regarding the (nano)gels' use in biomedical applications such as biomimetics, biosensors, artificial muscles, and chemical separations in relation with their ability to be used as a vehicle for various biomolecules due to their physicochemical properties, biocompatibility, and biodegradability.

Gastroretentive Technologies in Tandem with Controlled-Release Strategies: A Potent Answer to Oral Drug Bioavailability and Patient Compliance Implications

“…This was due to the increased swelling of the polymers, alongside the entrapment of CO 2 bubbles generated from the reaction of sodium bicarbonate with hydrochloric acid [202]. Furthermore, sodium bicarbonate acted as a source of sodium ions which promoted the in situ gelation of GG through the formation of a cross-linked, three-dimensional network [203][204][205][206]. Regarding the mucoadhesive capability of the tablets, increasing amounts of GG demonstrated an increasing mucoadhesive strength of the tablets onto goat stomach mucosa, due to increased water uptake and swelling and higher availability of adhesive polymer sites that could interact with the mucin molecules.…”

Glycosaminoglycan-Based Cryogels as Scaffolds for Cell Cultivation and Tissue Regeneration

“…Another attractive feature already known from hydrogels is the stimuli-responsive behavior of cryogels, which can be initiated by an external physical or chemical trigger such as biological stimuli (e.g., antigens, ligands, enzymes, or small-molecule concentrations such as glucose, nucleic acids), changes in the environment (pH, ionic strength, or molecular species), or physical signals such as temperature, pressure, light, electric, or magnetic fields [ 94 , 95 , 96 ]. Bond cleavage, bond formation, swelling/deswelling, and conformational changes are common responses of such gels.…”

Micro- to Nanoscale Bio-Hybrid Hydrogels Engineered by Ionizing Radiation

“…The success of nanogels is mainly due to their promising applications in the biomedical field. Nanogels, as stand-alone nanoparticles, have been proposed as nanocarriers of chemical and biological entities for therapeutic purposes and/or contrast agents for medical imaging [46][47][48], as active components of biochips or biosensors [49], building blocks of in situ forming scaffolds for tissue engineering, [50,51] cell culture systems [52,53], and antimicrobial coatings [54,55], and as compo-nents of wound dressing formulations [56,57]. Other notable applications of nanogels in related fields include iron chelation therapy [58], biochemical separation and contaminant removal [59,60], and bio-catalysis [61].…”