Hydrogels Formed from Natural Polysaccharides: Preparation and Biomedical Applications

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Background

Hydrogels usually represent those cross-linked materials with high water retention. Due to their high biocompatibility and extracellular matrix (ECM) mimicking property, hydrogels have been extensively explored for biomedical applications during the last ten years. The three-dimensional (3D) porous structure of hydrogels provides opportunities for loading drugs, biomacromolecules, and cells, thus offering a novel approach for advanced therapeutic delivery. Hydrogels loaded with drugs or biomacromolecules can serve as depots and deliver bioactive ingredients locally, which enables long-term sustained release, enhances drug availability and avoids side effects from conventional systemic administration. Hydrogels can also mimic the ECM to offer excellent microenvironments for 3D cell encapsulation, which overcomes limitations by traditional 2D cell culture techniques and exhibits a promising future for tissue engineering. Moreover, the mechanical strength of hydrogels can be easily adjusted to mimic damaged or malfunctioning tissues. Implantation of such hydrogels can support cell colonization, thereby promoting the regeneration of native tissues. Recently, more and more attention has been paid to the preparation of functional hydrogels as well as their applications in diverse diseases, demonstrating great potential for their clinical utilization in the near future.

Natural polysaccharides, also known as glycans, are biopolymers consisting of multiple saccharide units in covalently linked chains. Familiar examples include cellulose, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, alginate, dextran, heparin, starch, carrageenan, gellan gum and so on. Compared to synthetic polymers, polysaccharides possess several inherent advantages such as low cost, renewability, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Hydrogels can be formed by physical and/or chemical cross-linking of polysaccharides and their derivatives with versatile functional moieties. For example, several polysaccharides that exhibit lower critical solution temperature (LCST) features can form hydrogels in situ via physical cross-linking upon temperature change. In recent years, polysaccharides-based hydrogels that are cross-linked by dynamic bonds have attracted more and more attention. The good reversibility of these dynamic bonds, such as Schiff base, host-guest interaction, phenylboronic ester, hydrazone, and disulfide bonds, endows hydrogels with excellent self-healing and injectable properties. With the fast development of material chemistry, multifunctional polysaccharides-based hydrogels with well-designed structures will be innovatively prepared and utilized for a wide range of biomedical applications.

This Research Topic aims to gather contributions describing innovative preparation methods and incessant emerging biomedical applications of polysaccharides-based hydrogels. The biomedical applications include but are not limited to smart and responsive drug delivery, anti-cancer therapy, anti-bacterial therapy, and tissue regeneration. Detailed studies related to the long-term in vivo biocompatibility and biodegradability will be encouraged as well.

We welcome Original Research, Review, and Mini Review articles covering the following topics:

1. Preparation and characterization of novel polysaccharides-based hydrogels
2. Self-healing hydrogels
3. Hydrogels for sustained/controlled drug delivery
4. Hydrogels for anti-cancer and anti-bacterial therapy
5. Hydrogels for tissue engineering, such as wound healing, cartilage repair, and nerve regeneration
6. Long term in vivo cytotoxicity and biodegradability of hydrogels

Keywords: hydrogels, natural polysaccharides, self-healing, biomedical applications, drug delivery, tissue regeneration

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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