Injectable hydrogels for biomedical formulations

Abstract

Regenerative medicine, a new paradigm stemming from technologies such as tissue engineering and the controlled release of therapeutic molecules, is revolutionizing the clinical practices. The sophisticated smart materials used in these biomedical applications must meet strict criteria, namely convenient mechanical properties and degradation rate, biocompatibility, porosity and interconnectivity, functional properties related to the interaction with cells and the release of pharmaceuticals, etc. This review will focus on injectable hydrogels, whose great interest in the clinical perspective is, to a large extent, due to the minimal invasive manner through which they can be implanted in the human body. The injectable hydrogels share the same general advantages as those of the hydrogels, with the additional benefit of being able to fill irregular shaped defects doing so in a minimal invasive manner. The materials and the challenging requirements for the design of injectable hydrogels and their applications in the biomedical field will be addressed.