Advances in the Fabrication of Antimicrobial Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

This review describes, in an organized manner, the recent developments in the elaboration of hydrogels that possess antimicrobial activity. The fabrication of antibacterial hydrogels for biomedical applications that permits cell adhesion and proliferation still remains as an interesting challenge, in particular for tissue engineering applications. In this context, a large number of studies has been carried out in the design of hydrogels that serve as support for antimicrobial agents (nanoparticles, antibiotics, etc.). Another interesting approach is to use polymers with inherent antimicrobial activity provided by functional groups contained in their structures, such as quaternary ammonium salt or hydrogels fabricated from antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) or natural polymers, such as chitosan. A summary of the different alternatives employed for this purpose is described in this review, considering their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, more recent methodologies that lead to more sophisticated hydrogels that are able to react to external stimuli are equally depicted in this review.

Fabrication of an Original Transparent PVA/Gelatin Hydrogel: In Vitro Antimicrobial Activity against Skin Pathogens

“…Their valuable properties, including hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, biodegradability, flexibility, and other mechanical properties similar to natural tissues, represent a tremendous interest in medicine. Thereby, their end use is quite noticeable in the tissue engineering (e.g., healing burns and wound dressing/wound fillers, contact lenses, absorbable sutures, hybrid-type organs such as encapsulated living cells, prostheses, and coated implants), pharmaceutical (e.g., drug delivery), and biomedical fields (e.g., asthma and osteoporosis treatments) [7].…”

Design of polymer-based antimicrobial hydrogels through physico-chemical transition

“…In the last years researchers have strongly focused their efforts in the development of antibacterial and antimicrobial materials. Although the study of antimicrobial field dates back about one hundred years, the design of polymeric systems able to exhibit efficient inhibition of bacterial infections is a discussed and thriving technology, that has become pivotal not only in biological fields, hospital and healthcare environments, but also in laboratory, marine and some industrial applications [1][2][3][4]. The direct use of antibiotic agents could be the approach to counteract many infections, but the main constraints are related to the potential environmental toxicity, the bacterial resistance, the shortterm antimicrobial activity and the proteolytic instability and degradation [5,6].…”

Three-Dimensional Printing Constructs Based on the Chitosan for Tissue Regeneration: State of the Art, Developing Directions and Prospect Trends

“…Altering manufacturing parameters makes it possible for stimulating natural tissues with tailored biological characteristics appropriate for the recovery of tissues. The advantages of CS are actually broadly described; among the major positive aspects of CS, one can mention the capability to modify properties such as the degradation rate by altering the degree of deacetylation and it's Mw [157][158][159][160][161][162][163][164][165][166][167][168]. Additive components are regularly incorporated into CS in an effort to enhance its printability, fidelity, or to fabricate new cell-laden matrices.…”