Hydrogel as a Novel Drug Delivery System: Recent Advancements and Patents

Background: A semisolid gel-like preparation constitutes with the cross-linked polymers, which may easily swell in the presence of water and incorporate the amount of drug substance known as ‘Hydrogel.’ Objective: To prepare the review on the hydrogels, leading ennoblements, classification, mechanism, recent patents, and evaluation parameters. Methods: This review accrued by taking the help of online and offline journals, books, and other sources. This field includes new developments in the field of inventions in the novel drug delivery of hydrogels. Results: The impact of the formulation of hydrogels is attracting the focus of the researchers expeditiously because of their nature, three-dimensional structure, compatibility with the other excipients was found enormously useful in the biomedical applications and pharmaceutical industries, less time consuming, better sustained and prolonged the effect. Currently, hydrogels are growing expeditiously for the intensive work done by the use of natural, synthetic, and semi-synthetic polymers for the transformation of hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs into hydrogels as compared to develop the conventional gels. Conclusion: The journey of hydrogel goes through with the numerous inventions research papers, reports, publications, and many other sources. The development arouses with the hydrogels in the use of wound dressing, making diapers, contact lens, etc. Nowadays, it is pivotally growing in the field of tissue engineering scaffolds, preparation of hydrophobic drugs into hydrogels, which is a critical challenge in prompt conditions.