Recent Progress in Biopolymer-Based Hydrogel Materials for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Hydrogels from biopolymers are readily synthesized, can possess various characteristics for different applications, and have been widely used in biomedicine to help with patient treatments and outcomes. Polysaccharides, polypeptides, and nucleic acids can be produced into hydrogels, each for unique purposes depending on their qualities. Examples of polypeptide hydrogels include collagen, gelatin, and elastin, and polysaccharide hydrogels include alginate, cellulose, and glycosaminoglycan. Many different theories have been formulated to research hydrogels, which include Flory-Rehner theory, Rubber Elasticity Theory, and the calculation of porosity and pore size. All these theories take into consideration enthalpy, entropy, and other thermodynamic variables so that the structure and pore sizes of hydrogels can be formulated. Hydrogels can be fabricated in a straightforward process using a homogeneous mixture of different chemicals, depending on the intended purpose of the gel. Different types of hydrogels exist which include pH-sensitive gels, thermogels, electro-sensitive gels, and light-sensitive gels and each has its unique biomedical applications including structural capabilities, regenerative repair, or drug delivery. Major biopolymer-based hydrogels used for cell delivery include encapsulated skeletal muscle cells, osteochondral muscle cells, and stem cells being delivered to desired locations for tissue regeneration. Some examples of hydrogels used for drug and biomolecule delivery include insulin encapsulated hydrogels and hydrogels that encompass cancer drugs for desired controlled release. This review summarizes these newly developed biopolymer-based hydrogel materials that have been mainly made since 2015 and have shown to work and present more avenues for advanced medical applications.

Novel Trends in Hydrogel Development for Biomedical Applications: A Review

“…Biopolymers are usually derived from plants and animals [ 152 , 153 ]. These polymers have multiple functions within the body, e.g., the creation of tissues and providing molecules such as signals for the human endocrine system, among others [ 152 , 154 ].…”

“…Biopolymers are usually derived from plants and animals [ 152 , 153 ]. These polymers have multiple functions within the body, e.g., the creation of tissues and providing molecules such as signals for the human endocrine system, among others [ 152 , 154 ]. Therefore, natural sources represent an ideal perspective for hydrogel fabrication, due to their well-known biological properties, although these materials are often limited due to the difficulty of their synthesis and process, as well as their poor stability and mechanical properties, which still remain the most challenging features of this materials [ 1 , 155 , 156 ].…”

Synthesis of Fibrin-Type I Collagen Biomaterials via an Acidic Gel

“…Biopolymer-based hydrogels have found a wide range of applications, especially in the medical, food and analytical fields [ 34 , 35 , 36 ]. In particular, fibrin and type I collagen are two key proteins in the human body and have therefore been widely used for the design of biomaterials [ 6 , 20 ].…”

Smart Hydrogels for Advanced Drug Delivery Systems

“…Hydrogels, as an important class of biomaterials, can be defined as coherent systems composed of a three-dimensional polymer network, containing a huge amount of aqueous phases that cannot dissolve the network through physical and chemical interactions due to the presence of interconnections, called crosslinks [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Nowadays, hydrogels are an appealing type of targeted drug delivery systems and have been used in many branches of medicine and biomedical engineering, including cartilage and wound regeneration, bone tissue engineering, biosensors, electronic and soft robotic component, and inflammation relief [ 4 , 5 , 6 ].…”