چكيده لاتين :
Hydrogels are a unique class of macromolecular networks that can hold a large
fraction of an aqueous solvent within their structures. They are particularly suitable
for biomedical applications, including controlled drug delivery, because of
their ability to simulate biological tissues. Many hydrogel-based networks have been
designed and fabricated to meet the needs of pharmaceutical and medical fields. The
objective of this paper is to give a brief review on the fundamentals and recent
advances in the design of hydrogel-based drug delivery systems (DDS) as well as the
description of the release mechanism of bioactive molecules from these hydrogels.
The structure and classification of hydrogels, swelling behaviour of hydrogels, different
mechanisms of solvent diffusion into and drug release from hydrogels and mathematical
description of these phenomena are elucidated. The most important properties
of hydrogels relevant to their biomedical applications are also identified, especially for
use of hydrogels as drug delivery systems. Kinetics of drug release from hydrogels
and the relevant mathematical modelling are also reviewed in this manuscript.
