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Hydrogels in Biology and Medicine

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomaterials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2022) | Viewed by 11048

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Prof. Dr. Eleonora Russo

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Section of Medicinal and Cosmetic Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, University of Genova, Viale Benedetto XV, 3-16132 Genova, Italy
Interests: gels; pharmaceutical technology; mucoadhesion; nanotechnology; drug delivery
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Prof. Dr. Carla Villa

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Guest Editor

Section of Medicinal and Cosmetic Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, University of Genova, Viale Benedetto XV, 3-16132 Genova, Italy
Interests: gels; cosmetic technology; cosmetic chemistry; green chemistry; green extractions
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Dear Colleagues,

Hydrogels are ordered three-dimensional cross-linked systems formed by polymeric chains embedded in a water-rich environment. They are composed of hydrophilic homopolymers or copolymers, which may absorb from 10–20% up to thousands of times their dry weight in water.

A great variety of naturally derived and synthetic polymers can be processed into hydrogels. For this reason, they can be classified, depending on the polymer origin, as natural, synthetic, and hybrid gels.

They can also be divided into two groups according to the nature of the formation mechanisms of the three-dimensional network (physical and chemical gelation).

The majority of the physical gelation methods (molecular entanglement, ionic interaction, and hydrogen-bonding among the polymeric chains) depend on the intrinsic properties of the polymers. This dependence limits the ability to fine-tune the attributes of hydrogels, but gelation is easy to achieve without the need for modifying polymer chains and it is usually easy to reverse when necessary. Examples of this group include poly(vinyl alcohol), gelatin, chitosan, alginate, and agar–agar hydrogels.

Chemical approaches can be used to allow for more controllable, precise management of the cross-linking procedure, potentially in a spatially and dynamically defined manner. Permanent hydrogels are obtained with covalent chemical bondings, for example, poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA).

The versatility of the hydrogel system has endowed it with widespread applications in various fields.

The history of hydrogels for biomedical applications dates back to 1960, when O. Wichterle and D. Lim obtained the 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA)-based hydrogel, which was used for the production of soft contact lenses.

Since then, hydrogels have been used as systems for drug controlled delivery, to facilitate the localized, sustained, and prolonged release of a drug, thereby decreasing the number of administrations, avoiding side effects and following low doses.

Advances in chemical methods—such as click chemistry, combination of gelation mechanisms, and doping with nanomaterials—have produced hydrogels with more controlled physicochemical properties.

Hydrogels based on both natural and synthetic polymers have continued to be of interest for cell encapsulation and most recently they have become especially attractive to the new field of ‘tissue engineering’ as matrices for repairing and regenerating a wide variety of tissues and organs.

It is our pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript for this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Prof. Eleonora Russo
Prof. Carla Villa
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Polymeric hydrogel
drug delivery
physical interactions
biomedical
natural and synthetic polymer

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 842 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Selected Ophthalmic Fluids on the Wettability and Hydration of Hydrogel and Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses—In Vitro Study

by Gabriela Chwalik-Pilszyk and Anna Wiśniewska

Materials 2022, 15(3), 930; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15030930 - 25 Jan 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2845

Abstract

This study attempts to evaluate the effect of incubation in selected ophthalmic fluids on contact lenses (Etafilcon A, Omafilcon A, Narafilcon A, Senofilcon A). Four research groups differing in the incubation environment were created: (1) initial state, (2) contact lens solution (CLS), (3) contact lens solution and eye drops (ED) and (4) eye drops. Dehydration by gravimetric method and the contact angle (CA) by the sessile drop method were tested. The surface free energy (SFE) was also calculated with the use of several methods: Owens–Wendt, Wu, Neumann, and Neumann–Kwok. The greatest changes in the dehydration profile were observed for contact lenses incubated in ED. The most noticeable changes in CA values were observed for contact lenses incubated in ED, in which it was not possible to settle water drop after incubation. On the basis of SFE analysis, higher values were found for hydrogel contact lenses, e.g., according to the Owens–Wendt method, they ranged from 54.45 ± 6.56 mJ/m

^{2}

to 58.09 ± 4.86 mJ/m

^{2}

, while in the case of silicone-hydrogel contact lenses, they ranged from 32.86 ± 3.47 mJ/m

^{2}

to 35.33 ± 6.56 mJ/m

^{2}

. Incubation in all tested environments decreased the SFE values, but the differences were in most cases statistically insignificant. Calculating the SFE may be a useful method as it can be used to estimate the possibility of bacteria adhering to contact lens surfaces. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrogels in Biology and Medicine)

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Review

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20 pages, 2325 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Hydrogels in Hand Sanitizers

by Carla Villa and Eleonora Russo

Materials 2021, 14(7), 1577; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14071577 - 24 Mar 2021

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 7516

Abstract

Hand hygiene can be considered a strategic key useful in the containment of infections such as COVID-19 both at home and in communities because it can dramatically reduce the widespread outbreak of infections. In case of the unavailability of soap and water, “instant” hand sanitizers are recommended because their application can be considered easy, versatile, quick and often less aggressive for the skin. For these reasons, alcoholic and alcohol-free hand rub gels can be considered the best performing formulations on the market. Together with disinfectants and antiseptic agents, hydrogels play a fundamental role in obtaining stable formulations and are easy to disperse, with a pleasant skin feel and an overall good performance. Several compounds commonly used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industry are available for this purpose, in particular, cellulose derivatives and synthetic polymers derivatives. Each of them is available in several grades, presenting different thickening behavior, rheological properties and compatibility with other ingredients, alcohols in particular. For all these reasons, it is important to explore hydrogel properties and behaviors in different contexts (i.e., hydroalcoholic and aqueous media) in order to develop new and performing hand rub gels, always taking into account the different international legal frameworks regarding disinfectant and sanitizing formulations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrogels in Biology and Medicine)

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