Chapter 3 - Alginate-based hydrogels for drug delivery applications

Abstract

The biopolymeric hydrogels are being employed as the promising carriers for delivery of numerous kinds of drug candidates. Hydrogel systems are capable of absorbing higher volume of aqueous fluid while keeping intactness of the structural features. These also provide an easy implementation of the targeted and controlled releasing of drugs to the specific organs. Their use can minimize the unfavorable side effects of conventional drug delivery. Alginate is an abundant natural polysaccharide that possesses various freely existing hydroxyl and carboxyl functional groups along with its structural backbone and thus can be modified chemically. Alginate-based hydrogels have been designed by using different strategies which are either based on various kinds of physical and/or chemical cross-linking methodologies. Recent years, the drug delivery research and development have witnessed a tremendous growth for the prospective use of various alginate-based hydrogels. Due to increasing interest and great potential of these alginate-based hydrogels, this chapter is intended to present a comprehensive overview of the existing state-of-the-art technology in producing various alginate-based hydrogels and their evaluations for the use in drug delivery.