Stimuli-sensitive hydrogels for pharmaceutical and medical applications

Hydrogels are three-dimensional cross-linked hydrophilic polymers that swell in water and aqueous solutions without dissolving in them. They are very sensitive to environmental stimulus, which is manifested by a sharp phase transition. This feature is important for their application in the pharmaceutical field, especially for making formulations with controlled release of active ingredients, with the correction of the solubility, degradation and their toxicity reducing. Because of the compatibility with living tissues, hydrogels can be used in different medical purposes (for making contact lenses, stents, balloon catheters, artificial muscles, substitutes for arteries and veins, trachea, oviduct). This work presents methods (chemical and physical) for obtaining hydrogels, their properties and sensitivity to environmental stimuli (temperature, pH, magnetic field), as well as their potential application in medicine and pharmacy.