Patroklou Georgia, Triantafyllopoulou Efstathia, Goula Paraskevi-Evelina, Karali Vasiliki, Chountoulesi Maria, Valsami Georgia, Pispas Stergios, Pippa Natassa
Section of Pharmaceutical Technology, Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece.
Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 48 Vassileos Constantinou Avenue, 11635 Athens, Greece.
Polymers (Basel). 2025 May 23;17(11):1451. doi: 10.3390/polym17111451.
Hydrogels are three-dimensional polymeric systems, being able to accommodate different categories of bioactive agents and act as promising drug delivery systems in many different biomedical applications. Due to their extended 3D network, hydrogels exhibit many advantages, such as extensive loading capacity and controlled drug release profiles, combined with characteristics such as biocompatibility and biodegradability, due to their constructive polymeric biomaterials. Moreover, hydrogels are capable of being administered via different routes of administration, including systemic and topical ones, due to their tunable characteristics. Stimuli-responsive hydrogels are characterized as smart biomaterials, while environmental stimuli, such as pH, can be employed to trigger on-demand drug release from the hydrogels via the provocation of conformational changes. In the present study, an emphasis on the pH-responsive hydrogels is taking place through various literature cases in drug delivery, wound healing, and some alternative applications, including implantation, oral administration, etc., wherein many different polymeric derivatives have been utilized. Moreover, the role of each used polymer or polymeric combination with other functional biomaterials, their mode of structure formation (for example, crosslinking), and their content release mechanism are highlighted, as well as the therapeutic effect of the hydrogels on different pathological conditions, as promising candidates for pharmaceutical applications.
水凝胶是三维聚合物体系，能够容纳不同种类的生物活性剂，并在许多不同的生物医学应用中作为有前景的药物递送系统。由于其扩展的三维网络，水凝胶具有许多优点，例如广泛的负载能力和可控的药物释放曲线，以及由于其构成性聚合物生物材料而具有的生物相容性和生物可降解性等特性。此外，由于其可调谐特性，水凝胶能够通过不同的给药途径进行给药，包括全身给药和局部给药。刺激响应性水凝胶被表征为智能生物材料，而环境刺激，如pH值，可以通过引发构象变化来触发水凝胶按需释放药物。在本研究中，通过药物递送、伤口愈合以及一些替代应用（包括植入、口服给药等）中的各种文献案例，重点关注了pH响应性水凝胶，其中已经使用了许多不同的聚合物衍生物。此外，还强调了每种使用的聚合物或聚合物与其他功能性生物材料的组合、它们的结构形成方式（例如交联）及其内容物释放机制，以及水凝胶对不同病理状况的治疗效果，作为药物应用的有前景的候选者。
