Alginate-Based Hydrogels in Regenerative Medicine

This chapter presents the following multipotential applications of alginatebased hydrogels in tissue healing and drug delivery. It contains state of the art and summary of the literature reports, which demonstrate that alginate-based hydrogels have a great potential in tissue healing. Sodium alginate (SA) is mainly used in medical devices for healing of wounds, scars, injuries of bones, regeneration of joint cartilage, and scaffold for cell growth and in drug delivery systems (DDSs). The latest literature describes the effects of laboratory tests and in vivo, which confirm the validity of its use as a biomaterial. Alginate biodegradable scaffolds can be a template that provides a suitable substrate for cellular growth while matching the physiochemical properties of the native extracellular matrix (ECM). Matching scaffold stiffness to the surrounding tissue and optimising its rate of degradation ensure that the infiltrating cells remain viable, maintain their desired phenotype and coordinate their response over the entirety of the wound healing process.