Gelatin-based Hydrogels for Drug Delivery: A Recent Update

The flexible functionalization of gelatin provides opportunities for easy and efficient cross-linking as well as combining with other materials (such as metal nanoparticles (MNPs), carbonaceous materials, and polymeric materials showing desired functional properties) to create hybrid materials with improved physicochemical, biological, and thermomechanical properties. The distinctive functional characteristics of (nano)composite hydrogels and gelatin-based hydrogels (GBHs) make them suitable for a variety of biomedical applications. GBH’s soft mechanics, which closely resemble real tissues, allow for the delivery of appropriate mechanical signals to nearby cells during tissue engineering. Modifying gelatin adhesives to acquire various viscoelastic and mechanical qualities that make ocular application easier is simple. GBHs are usually mixed with different compatible materials such as alginate, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, and carbon nanotube. These hybrid materials have unique physicochemical characteristics, antibacterial activity, biodegradability, and biocompatibility, which make them particularly interesting in the many nanomedicine sectors.