Self-Assembled Hydrogel Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery Applications

Abstract

Hydrogel nanoparticles—also referred to as polymeric nanogels or macromolecular micelles—are emerging as promising drug carriers for therapeutic applications. These nanostructures hold versatility and properties suitable for the delivery of bioactive molecules, namely of biopharmaceuticals. This article reviews the latest developments in the use of self-assembled polymeric nanogels for drug delivery applications, including small molecular weight drugs, proteins, peptides, oligosaccharides, vaccines and nucleic acids. The materials and techniques used in the development of self-assembling nanogels are also described.

Chitosan Microgels and Nanoparticles via Electrofluidodynamic Techniques for Biomedical Applications

“…Moreover, they have been also processed in the form of nanoparticles and used as innovative drug delivery systems, owing to their unique properties to confine their main features (e.g., swelling, controlled molecular release) into a sub-micrometric units [8]. Recently, a large variety of synthetic hydrogels have been prepared with tailored and highly reproducible chemistry and physical properties, thereby providing the required degradation properties [9].…”

Poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid Nanoformulation of Small Molecule Antagonist GANT61 for Cancer Annihilation by Modulating Hedgehog Pathway

“…Drug release from PLGA NPs mainly occurs by diffusion, polymeric erosion process or sometimes a combination of both [33]. Polymeric degradation also results from a number of factors such as change in pH, temperature and external stimuli, which accelerate drug release [34]. The release of GANT61 from the NPs was observed to be a pH dependent release profile resulting a slow drug release at physiological pH 7.4 and a faster release at acidic pH 4.5 corresponding to the acidic endosomal compartment after endocytosis.…”

Functionalized Textile Based Therapy for the Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis

“…They are swollen nanosized networks composed of hydrophilic or amphiphilic polymer chains. The water absorbing ability, high loading property, and high stability make nanogels an ideal candidate for biomedical applications to load therapeutic agents ranging from small molecular drugs to macromolecular proteins, peptides, and vaccines [170]. The narrow nanosized distribution endows nanogels with the ability to reach the smallest capillary vessels and penetrate across the skin tissues with longer drug release duration when applied for transdermal therapy [170,171].…”

“…This is of high importance for the development of transdermal drug systems to overcome the barrier effect of the skin. Currently, nanogels have been fabricated via a variety of strategies, including layer-by-layer self-assembly, homogeneous polymerization, heterogeneous polymerization, and temperature-assisted nanofabrication [169][170][171].…”