Hydrogel Drug Delivery System (HDDS): Contribution by Pakistani Researchers

Abstract

Hydrogels are hydrophilic polymeric networks that are able to swell and retain large amounts of water or biological fluids. Hydrogels work well in the body because they mimic the natural structure of the body’s cellular makeup. As a result of this, the area of hydrogel research has expanded dramatically in the recent years, primarily because they perform well for biomedical applications (Kunzler et al., 2003). Recent advances in the use of hydrogels have led to the potential to design artificial organs, deliver drugs to specific sites in the body in a controlled fashion and fabricate the extended wear contact lenses (Lin and Metters, 2006); Hoare and Kohane, 2008). Hydrogels can absorb water nearly 10-20 times its molecular weight and hence become swollen. Their affinity to absorb water is attributed to the presence of hydrophilic groups such as –OH, –CONH–, –CONH2–, and –SO3H in polymers forming hydrogel structures (Peppas et al., 2000). Hydrogel technologies may be broadly applied to wound dressings (Azad et al., 2004), superabsorbent, barrier materials to regulate biological adhesions, biosensor devices, tissue engineering and regenerative medicines, diagnostics and separation of biomolecules or cells and pharmaceuticals (Kumar et al., 2008). Hydrogels may be classified as natural or synthetic depending on the nature of their origin.