Smart Hydrogels for Treatment of Microbial Diseases

TL;DR

Smart hydrogels are responsive materials that can help treat microbial diseases by controlling drug release and reducing antimicrobial resistance.

Contribution

This review investigates the preparation, types, and applications of smart hydrogels in treating microbial diseases.

Findings

Smart hydrogels can respond to stimuli like temperature, pH, and light without harming the body.

They offer efficient strategies for drug release and biofilm disruption, reducing antimicrobial resistance.

Structural modifications have enhanced their multi-responsive and adhesive properties for biomedical use.

Abstract

Smart hydrogels, which combine hydrogel properties such as biocompatibility, high drug loading capacity, and injectability while being responsive to external stimuli, are a subclass of smart materials. Smart hydrogels respond to effects that are not harmful to the human body, such as temperature, pH, light, and biomolecules. Furthermore, some smart hydrogels possess dual-responsive properties or can be multifunctional, exhibiting both adhesive and responsive behavior to external stimuli. Smart hydrogels have made groundbreaking advances in the field of biomedical. They have been improved through structural modifications and by gaining the ability to be multi-responsive. Controlling drug release and biofilm disruption by using these smart hydrogels is one of the efficient strategies to reduce antimicrobial resistance and the number of deaths caused by microbial diseases. In this review, the preparation of smart hydrogels, their various types and applications in the treatment of microbial diseases were investigated.

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