Structure and Rheology of Hydrogels: Applications in Drug Delivery

Hydrogels are 3D network like structures comprising of hydrophilic polymers having copious amounts of water in their intersticial spaces and thus promising materials for the drug delivery platforms. Physical and chemical methods are employed to synthesize the hydrogels. Rheology provides the structure–property relationships to understand the various mechanisms of hydrogels which can tune the cross-linking density to assess the mechanical strength. Stimuli-responsive, in situ, and injectable hydrogels are being explored at different scales for the delivery of drugs, proteins, and biomolecules. This chapter provides an extensive overview of the different methods of fabrication, swelling properties, rheology, and developments in drug delivery applications of hydrogels.