Polysaccharide Hydrogels
Characterization and Biomedical Applications

Hydrogels are an emerging area of interest in medicine as well as pharmaceutics, and their physico-chemical characterization is fundamental to their practical applications. Compared with synthetic polymers, polysaccharides that are widely present in living organisms and come from renewable sources are extremely advantageous for hydrogel formation. Furthermore, polysaccharides are usually non-toxic and biocompatible and show a number of peculiar physico-chemical properties that make them suitable for a wide variety of biomedical applications. This book bridges the gap between the preparation of hydrogels and their characterization techniques. It aims to offer a valid support that can help the readers find appropriate keys to open the doors to the complex world of polysaccharide hydrogels.

Introduction. Hydrogels. Rheological Characterization of Hydrogels. Hydrogel Mesh Size Evaluation. Dynamic Light Scattering. NMR Methodologies in the Study of Polysaccharides. Small-Angle Neutron Scattering of Polysaccharide Hydrogels. The Method of Small-Angle X-ray Scattering and Its Application to the Structural Analysis of Oligo- and Polysaccharides in Solution. Stimuli Responsive Polysaccharide-Based Hydrogels. Properties and Biomedical Applications of Gellan Gum Hydrogels. Polysaccharide Hydrogels with Magnetic Nanoparticles. Physical and Chemical Hyaluronic Acid hydrogels and Their Biomedical Applications. Alginate Hydrogels: Properties and Applications. Polysaccharide Hydrogels: The Present and the Future.

Pietro Matricardi is assistant professor at the Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Italy. His scientific activity is focused on the development of new polysaccharide hydrogels for drug delivery applications and on the physico-chemical characterization of hydrogels.

Franco Alhaique is professor emeritus at the University of Rome "La Sapienza", where he teaches pharmaceutical technology. His major research interests include polysaccharide hydrogels and vesicles for drug delivery. He serves on the editorial board of scientific journals and is co-editor of the Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology.

Tommasina Coviello obtained her PhD in chemistry from University of Rome "La Sapienza", where she is associate professor of pharmaceutical technology. Her research topics, which deal with the physical-chemical characterization of polysaccharides and of polymeric drug delivery systems, have been published in more than 80 papers in international journals.