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Biomedical Hydrogels: Synthesis, Design and Applications (2nd Edition)

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2024) | Viewed by 897

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Yang-Ming-Chiao-Tung University, Taipei 112304, Taiwan
Interests: functional nanoparticles; surface modifications; drug delivery; tissue engineering
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Natural, synthetic, and composite hydrogels have received great attention for wide biomedical applications. Advances have been achieved in both physically and chemically crosslinked hydrogels. In physically crosslinked hydrogels, the interactions between polymer chains in amphiphilic block and graft copolymers are established by ionic or hydrophobic interactions. In chemically crosslinked hydrogels, covalent bonds are formed between polymer chains. Crosslinked hydrogels can be generated by radical polymerization and chemical reactions of complementary groups and enzymes. To explore novel biomedical functions, composite hydrogels have been widely designed and developed. In this Special Issue, we will discuss and review recent progress in the synthesis, design, and applications of varying types of biomedical hydrogels for drug delivery, cell encapsulation, tissue engineering, and varying aspects of biomedical applications, including self-healing properties.

Prof. Dr. Tze Wen Chung
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • hydrogels
  • drug delivery
  • cell encapsulation
  • biomedical applications

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 5193 KiB  
Article
Single-Component Starch-Based Hydrogels for Therapeutic Delivery
by Alfio Pulvirenti, Antonella Caterina Boccia, Carolina Constantin, Mihaela Surcel, Adriana Munteanu, Victor-Eduard Peteu and Monica Neagu
Molecules 2024, 29(22), 5463; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29225463 - 20 Nov 2024
Viewed by 708
Abstract
Hydrogels are interesting materials as delivery systems of various therapeutic agents, mainly due to the water-swollen network and the localized and sustained drug release. Herein, single-component starch-based hydrogels with enhanced degradation rates were produced by applying a facile synthesis and proposed for a [...] Read more.
Hydrogels are interesting materials as delivery systems of various therapeutic agents, mainly due to the water-swollen network and the localized and sustained drug release. Herein, single-component starch-based hydrogels with enhanced degradation rates were produced by applying a facile synthesis and proposed for a novel delivery system of therapeutic molecules. Starch was oxidized with sodium periodate in water and mild conditions to generate aldehyde derivatives that, after a freeze-thaw procedure, were allowed to compact and stable hydrogels. Oxidized starch was also cross-linked with asparagine through a Schiff base reaction to link the active molecule directly to the polysaccharide structure. The materials were structurally and morphologically characterized, and the ability to adsorb and release over time an active molecule was proven by qNMR spectroscopy. The cytotoxicity was evaluated on CAL-27 cell line (oral squamous cell carcinoma). Results indicated that synthesized hydrogels lead to a “frozen proliferative” state on cells due to the swelling capability in the cell medium. This behavior was confirmed by flow cytometry data indicating the hydrogels induced less “early apoptosis” and more “late apoptosis” in the cells, compared to the untreated control. Since the proposed materials are able to control the cell proliferation, they could open a new scenario within the field of precise therapeutic applications. Full article
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