title: Recent advances in the role of supramolecular hydrogels in drug delivery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Supramolecular hydrogels, formed by noncovalent crosslinking of polymeric chains in water, constitute an interesting class of materials that can be developed specifically for drug delivery and biomedical applications. The biocompatibility, stimuli responsiveness to various external factors, and powerful functionalization capacity of these polymeric networks make them attractive candidates for novel advanced dosage form design.
  
  
  METHODS
  This review summarizes the significance of supramolecular hydrogels in various biomedical and drug delivery applications. The recent advancement of these hydrogels as potential advanced drug delivery systems (for gene, protein, anticancer and other drugs) is discussed. The importance of these hydrogels in biomedical applications, particularly in tissue engineering, biosensing, cell-culture research and wound treatment is briefly described.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of supramolecular hydrogels in drug delivery is still in very early stages. However, the potential of such a system is undeniably important and very promising. A number of recent studies have been conducted, which mainly focus on the use of cyclodextrin-based host-guest complex as well as other supramolecular motifs to form supramolecular hydrogels for delivery of various classes of drugs, therapeutic agents, proteins and genes. However, there are still plenty of opportunities for further development in this area for drug delivery and other biomedical applications.
authors.affiliation: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Centre for Drug Delivery Research, Faculty of Pharmacy , Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300, Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia +6 03 9289 7690 ; +6 03 2698 3271 ; mciamin@pharmacy.ukm.my.
authors.forename: Mohd Cairul Iqbal Mohd
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Amin
authors.forename: Naveed
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.forename: Manisha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pandey
authors.forename: Muhammad Mustafa
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Abeer
authors.forename: Najwa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mohamad
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003505:Cyclodextrins / Q000737:chemistry; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D011506:Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D003505:Cyclodextrins; D020100:Hydrogels; D011108:Polymers; D011506:Proteins
keywords: advanced drug delivery systems; cyclodextrin; drug delivery; host−guest inclusion complex; supramolecular hydrogels