Main description:

Plant and Algal Hydrogels for Drug Delivery and Regenerative Medicine offers a materials-focused and systematic overview of biopolymeric hydrogels utilized for biomedical applications. The book details the synthesis and characterization of plant and algal-based hydrogels, with each chapter addressing a separate polysaccharide hydrogel type. Specific applications in drug delivery and regenerative medicine are also discussed, highlighting the efficacy, biocompatibility, benefits and challenges for each polysaccharide hydrogel subtype. There is increasing demand for biomaterials which reduce/prevent the host response, inflammation and rejection, hence this book provides a timely resource.

Biopolymeric hydrogels have skyrocketed because of their necessity in in vivo applications. They create an environment similar to living tissue, which is both biocompatible and biodegradable. Plant and algal polysaccharides in particular are well-equipped with functional groups that are easily modified for beneficial results.

Contents:

1. Natural polysaccharides: Types, basic structure and suitability for forming hydrogels 2. Prospect of plant and algal polysaccharides-based hydrogels 3. Starch-based hydrogels 4. Cyclodextrins-based hydrogel 5. Potential of guar gum hydrogels in drug delivery 6. Hemicelluloses-based hydrogels 7. Locust bean gum-derived hydrogels 8. Inulin-based hydrogel 9. Hydrogels based on carrageenan 10. Hydrogels based on gum ghatti 11. Alginate-based hydrogels 12. Alginate-based nanocomposite hydrogels 13. Cellulose-based stimuli-responsive hydrogels 14. Hydrogels based on cellulose nanocomposites 15. Composite hydrogels of pectin and alginate 16. Clinical applications of biopolymer-based hydrogels