Hydrogels for Drug Delivery

The term ‘Hydrogel’ is self-defined, as a material composed of water (hydro) and matrix (gel). The hydrogels do not dissolve in water; rather, absorb water and swell into a volumetric mass due to their smart 3-dimensional network. Over the past few years, hydrogels have served as a multifunctional platform and gained the interest of the scientific community. The unique properties of hydrogels, including flexibility, biocompatibility, and mechanical stability, have made them quite an important research area in different fields like disease treatment, targeted drug delivery, and many others. The current applications of hydrogels include the manufacturing of contact lenses, drug delivery systems, hemostats, wound dressings, biosensors, etc. Here, the role of polymer and peptide-based hydrogels, their multi-functionality, unique properties, and major uses have been elaborated, which can serve as a major tool for human welfare in the future.

Keywords: Drug Delivery, Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol, Polymer, Nanocrystals.