Ionically Gelled Polysaccharide-Based Interpenetrating Polymer Network Systems for Drug Delivery

Interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) are a special type of polymer blends benefiting from combination of properties of two or more homo-/copolymers. Polysaccharide-based IPNs are promising materials for designing and manufacturing drug delivery and/or theranostic platforms. Ionically crosslinked polysaccharide-based IPNs in which polymer chains are crosslinked using non-toxic metal ions or low-molecular weight organic ions can be utilized to develop advanced delivery systems, which can disassemble in response to specific exogenous or endogenous stimuli such as pH, temperature, ion concentration, and redox species. Accordingly, such smart and stable delivery platforms are very interesting biomaterials to be loaded with various therapeutic agents. This chapter summarizes the application of these fascinating composite biomaterials in fabrication of delivery platforms.