Maciej Grabowski, Dominika Gmyrek, Maria Żurawska, Anna Trusek
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a naturally occurring glycosaminoglycan widely recognised for its biocompatibility, biodegradability, and unique viscoelastic properties. Its structural versatility enables the formation of hydrogels with tuneable physicochemical characteristics, making it a valuable biomaterial in drug delivery and regenerative medicine. This review outlines HA properties, gel-forming approaches, and modern medicine and bioengineering applications. It provides a comprehensive overview of advances in HA production strategies, including microbial fermentation, animal tissue extraction, and production in vitro. Particular attention is given to gel-forming mechanisms, emphasising physical and chemical crosslinking methods like carbodiimide crosslinking, radical polymerisation, and enzymatic crosslinking. Advances in HA-based drug delivery systems and applications of HA-based materials in tissue engineering are also discussed, focusing on HA-based hydrogels with conjugates and combinations with compounds like collagen, alginate, and chitosan.
期刊介绍:
The journal Gels (ISSN 2310-2861) is an international, open access journal on physical (supramolecular) and chemical gel-based materials. Our aim is to encourage scientists to publish their experimental and theoretical results in as much detail as possible. Therefore, there is no restriction on the maximum length of the papers, and full experimental details must be provided so that the results can be reproduced. Short communications, full research papers and review papers are accepted formats for the preparation of the manuscripts.
Gels aims to serve as a reference journal with a focus on gel materials for researchers working in both academia and industry. Therefore, papers demonstrating practical applications of these materials are particularly welcome. Occasionally, invited contributions (i.e., original research and review articles) on emerging issues and high-tech applications of gels are published as special issues.