Title:An Overview of Injectable Thermo-Responsive Hydrogels and Advances in their Biomedical Applications
Volume: 27
Issue: 34
Author(s): Fabián Ávila-Salas and Esteban F. Durán-Lara*
Affiliation:
- Bio & NanoMaterials Lab, Drug Delivery and Controlled Release, Universidad de Talca, Talca 3460000, Maule,Chile
Keywords:
Thermo responsive hydrogels, injectable hydrogels, biomaterials, sol-gel transition, drug delivery,
tissue engineering, regenerative medicine.
Abstract:
Background: Injectable hydrogels are a thermo-responsive system based on biomaterials.
Injectable hydrogels have been broadly investigated mainly as vehicles or scaffolds of therapeutic
agents that include drugs, proteins, cells, and bioactive molecules among others, utilized in the
treatment of diseases such as cancers and the repair and regeneration of tissues.
Results: There are several studies that have described the multiple features of hydrogels. However,
the main aspect that breaks the paradigm in the application of hydrogels is the thermoresponsiveness
that some of them have, which is an abrupt modification in their properties in response
to small variations in temperature. For that reason, the thermo-responsive hydrogels with the
unique property of sol-gel transition have received special attention over the past decades. These
hydrogels show phase transition near physiological human body temperature. This feature is key for
being applied in promising areas of human health-related research.
Conclusion: The purpose of this study is the overview of injectable hydrogels and their latest advances
in medical applications including bioactive compound delivery, tissue engineering, and regenerative
medicine.