Dendrimers-Based Hydrogels and Nanogels for Drug Delivery

Current developments in nanotechnology provide an alternative therapy for various diseases by utilizing customized medicine. Among some of the nanoscale superstructures made of the hydrophilic or amphiphilic polymeric matrix are nanogels. At the same time, hydrogels are the first biomaterials created for insertion into the human body and have several biological uses. Owing to the advantages of nanogels and hydrogel, including biocompatibility, hydrophilicity, controlled drug release, and intelligent drug delivery, another macromolecule called dendrimer is incorporated into the nanogel and hydrogel for synergistic effects. In this review, we focus on the applications of dendrimer-based hydrogels and nanogels as carriers for targeted delivery of drugs. We also present the synthetic processes, different characterization methods, and challenges in incorporating the dendrimer and the drug during the preparation of nanogel and hydrogel. In recent years, the most widely used dendrimers for hydrogel formation have been reported to be poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM), phosphorous, peptide, and polyester dendrimers. Dendrimer-based hydrogel and nanogels show various applications in the treatment of a wide range of diseases, such as glaucoma, cancer, and microbial diseases. The self-cleaving mechanism of dendrimer hydrogels (DH) leads to enhanced and sustained delivery of the drugs in the treatment of cancer. Recent studies show the use of doxorubicinconjugated nanogel-based PAMAM dendrimer as a capable nanocarrier for the delivery of drugs in the treatment of cancer.