Inherent and Composite Hydrogels as Promising Materials to Limit Antimicrobial Resistance

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance has increased significantly in the recent years, and has become a global problem for human health and the environment. As a result, several technologies for the controlling of health-care associated infections have been developed over the years. Thus, the most recent findings in hydrogel fabrication, particularly antimicrobial hydrogels, could offer valuable solutions for these biomedical challenges. In this review, we discuss the most promising strategies in the development of antimicrobial hydrogels and the application of hydrogels in the treatment of microbial infections. The latest advances in the development of inherently and composite antimicrobial hydrogels will be discussed, as well as hydrogels as carriers of antimicrobials, with a focus on antibiotics, metal nanoparticles, antimicrobial peptides, and biological extracts. The emergence of CRISR-Cas9 technology for removing the antimicrobial resistance has led the necessity of new and performant carriers for delivery of the CRISPR-Cas9 system. Different delivery systems, such as composite hydrogels and many types of nanoparticles, attracted a great deal of attention and will be also discussed in this review.

Advanced Hydrogel systems for mandibular reconstruction

“…The last category, a hydrogel with inherent antibacterial effects, can be mainly divided into two types: containing antibacterial polymers or antibacterial peptides (AMPs) [ 189 ]. Specifically, some polymers with antibacterial fragments can also be used to form hydrogels.…”

Bioinspired Hydrogels as Platforms for Life-Science Applications: Challenges and Opportunities

“…The temporal and structural hierarchy is influenced by the dynamics of the transient crosslinks: a fast relaxation mode with a lifetime corresponding to the crosslinking kinetics of nonentangled macromolecules and a slow relaxation mode for the entangled state. Water soluble polyrotaxanes were obtained by using poly(ethylene glycol)-amine, CB [7] and 2,3,6-tri-O-methyl α-cyclodextrin [83]. These inclusion complexes are able to encapsulate neutral and ionic guests.…”

“…From a chemical point of view, the hydrogels can be obtained from natural or synthetic water soluble (co)polymers of various structures and architectures, interpenetrated polymer networks (IPNs), proteins, peptides, clays, multicomponent systems, etc., having different morphologies and functions [1][2][3]. In particular, smart networks able to respond to physical, chemical, and biological stimuli gained much attention for a wide range of applications: tissue engineering [4], bone regeneration [5], controlled-release drug delivery vehicles [6], wound healing [7], soft robotics [8], biosensing [9], intelligent electronics and artificial intelligence [10], actuators [11][12][13], stretched electronic devices [14], hygiene products [15,16], contact lens [17], cosmetics [18], food nutrition and health, food safety and food engineering and processing [19], advanced wastewater treatment [20], catalysis [21][22][23], etc.…”

Alginate-Based Bio-Composites and Their Potential Applications

“…Additionally, alginate-based hydrogels reinforced with Ag nano-particles have been used for wound-healing in various animal models, and they prevent contamination. Alginate nanocomposite hydrogels showed antibacterial activity in the long term, and sustained Ag release [ 117 ]. In the same context, Diniz, F.R.…”