Hydrogel Microparticles as an Emerging Tool in Pharmaceutical Field: A Review

Abstract

From past few decades, emphasis of scientists is on the development of micro-and nanosized dosage forms to achieve the targeted and desired response from drugs. In this manner, they have developed microspheres, nanoparticles, niosomes, liposomes, etc. Now in recent past, work is going on the development of novel hydrogel microparticles that have more desirable response than conventional hydrogels. These newly developed hydrogel microparticles have a number of advantages over the conventional hydrogels as well as over other micro-or nanotechnologies. These are used to achieve either sustained or prolonged action as well as rapid release of drugs by complexation with hydrophilic polymers to enhance their solubility and ultimately bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs. Various techniques are used to prepare hydrogel microparticles such as the ionic gelation method, spray drying, dispersion, photopolymerization ionotropic gelation method, free radical precipitation polymerization, inverse emulsion polymerization, free radical polymerization, etc. Certain polymers along with various types of initiators, cross-linkers, and monomers are used in different concentrations depending upon the purpose of hydrogel microparticles. In recent review, we have focused upon the loading and drug release patterns from hydrogel microparticles, various technologies, and components applied in their preparations and applications in the pharmaceutical field. Hydrogel microparticles can be aimed for various purposes such as solubility enhancement of hydrophobic drugs, and targeted drug delivery, magnetic carriers; therefore, these are useful assets of pharmaceutical market. C 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Adv Polym Technol 2016, , 21535; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com.

Facile fabrication of a magnetic self-healing poly(vinyl alcohol) composite hydrogel

“…Hydrogels are 3D crosslinked polymeric networks that immobilize large quantities of water (20% to up to a thousand times their dry weight) and remain insoluble because of the presence of crosslinking, 1,2 and have been widely applied in a variety of elds, such as biomaterials in wound dressings, 3 implants and so contact lenses, 4 and microspheres for controlled drug release. 5 However, with the development of functional materials, common hydrogels still cannot meet some specic needs.…”

Delivery of proteins encapsulated in chitosan-tripolyphosphate nanoparticles to human skin melanoma cells

“…The nanoparticles were prepared via the ionotropic gelation method [Calvo et al, 1997, Ahmad et al, 2016.…”

An Engineering Point of View on the Use of the Hydrogels for Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Applications

“…When hydrogels are in the form of macroscopic links confined to micrometric dimensions, they are termed as microgels or hydrogel microparticles (HMPs), which are different in size from the sub-micrometrc HNPs (nanogels) [41]. The size of the particles is a crucial factor in determining their properties: the specific surface area of a spherical particle, as well as the diffusion rate, is inversely proportional to the diameter, and the time required for a stimulus to reach the centre of a gel particle is proportional to the square of the particle's diameter.…”