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Structure and Rheology of Hydrogels: Applications in Drug Delivery

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Biointerface Engineering: Prospects in Medical Diagnostics and Drug Delivery

Abstract

Hydrogels are 3D network like structures comprising of hydrophilic polymers having copious amounts of water in their intersticial spaces and thus promising materials for the drug delivery platforms. Physical and chemical methods are employed to synthesize the hydrogels. Rheology provides the structure–property relationships to understand the various mechanisms of hydrogels which can tune the cross-linking density to assess the mechanical strength. Stimuli-responsive, in situ, and injectable hydrogels are being explored at different scales for the delivery of drugs, proteins, and biomolecules. This chapter provides an extensive overview of the different methods of fabrication, swelling properties, rheology, and developments in drug delivery applications of hydrogels.

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Abbreviations

BAG:

Bioactive glass

CGT:

Critical gelation temperature

DRF:

Tris (4-isocyanatophenyl) thiophosphate

LCST:

Lower critical solution temperature

McH+:

Merocyanine-H+

PBA:

Phenyl boronic acid

PEG:

Poly ethylene glycol

PEO:

Poly ethylene oxide

PMVE/MA:

Poly methylvinylether/maleic acid

PNIPAM:

Poly n-isopropylacrylamide

PPO:

Poly propylene oxide

PVA:

Poly vinyl alcohol

PVP:

Poly vinyl pyrrolidene

SAOS:

Small angle oscillatory shear

UCST:

Upper critical solution temperature

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  1. Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar, Palaj, Gujarat, India

    Sai Geetha Marapureddy & Prachi Thareja

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  1. Sai Geetha Marapureddy
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  2. Prachi Thareja
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Correspondence to Prachi Thareja .

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  1. Laboratory of Bio-Physio Sensors and Nano-bioengineering, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India

    Pranjal Chandra

  2. Bio-interface and Environmental Engineering Lab, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India

    Lalit M. Pandey

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Marapureddy, S.G., Thareja, P. (2020). Structure and Rheology of Hydrogels: Applications in Drug Delivery. In: Chandra, P., Pandey, L. (eds) Biointerface Engineering: Prospects in Medical Diagnostics and Drug Delivery . Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4790-4_4

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