Natural polymer based hydrogels as scaffolds for tissue engineering
Hydrogels have increased attention in drug delivery systems and other areas of biomedical engineering. Hydrogels are a remarkable strategy to develop scaffolds for tissue engineering and provide basic knowledge to comprehend cell scaffold interactions, cellular response, and tissue formation. Hydrogels are hydrophilic, crosslinked three dimensional polymeric networks that have been widely used as tissue engineering scaffolds due to their good biocompatibility, biomimetic, swellable properties, and enviable physical characteristics that allow permeability for oxygen, nutrients, and water soluble metabolites. Polymers used in naturally derived hydrogels are often used in tissue engineering as they are either components of natural extracellular matrix or have similar properties. Frequently used polymers in hydrogels are collagen, hyaluronic acid, alginate, chitosan, etc. They are used as scaffolds that give structural integrity to tissue constructs, control drug and protein delivery to tissues, and are used as adhesives between tissue and material surfaces. More research has been focused on the design of biomimetic hydrogels, which aspire to imitate the physicochemical and biological properties of natural materials for tissue engineering for the treatment of skin disorders. This chapter aims to discuss different aspects of hydrogels, particularly natural polymers and their pharmaceutical and biological applications.