Vesicles, micelles and cyclodextrins immobilized into hydrogel multi-component devices for controlled drug delivery

An emerging methodology to strengthen polymeric hydrogels focuses on incorporating nanomaterials within the network to obtain nanocomposites hydrogels with superior properties and tailored functionality when compared to their conventional counterparts.Among the wide range of nanoparticles, oligosaccharides, lipid or surfactant-based systems such as cyclodextrins, liposomes, niosomes and micelles were found to be attractive in drug delivery. Their integration within the hydrogel networks results in the enhancement of the interactions between the drug and the hydrogel matrix and in the influence of drugs transport into the body and their release behaviour. This chapter attempts to provide a brief overview of hydrogel-immobilized nanomaterials obtained by incorporation of vesicles, micelles and cyclodextrins into the gel network, analysing the potential of each combination and giving an exhaustive collection of the most relevant and recent investigations.