Pharmaceutical and Biotechnological Applications of Natural Hydrogels: Hydrogel Technology for Drug Delivery Systems and Enzyme Immobilization

Polysaccharide hydrogels from plants are found as common ingredients in cosmetic, food and non food industries, due to their low cost, when compared to synthetic polymers. They are used as binders, disintegrants, suspending agents, emulsifying agents and sustaining agents in pharmaceutical industries, because of their unique properties like high water swellability, non-toxicity, low cost and free availability. They also find a vast range of applications in biotechnology because of their gelling properties and entrapment capabilities. One of the important applications is immobilization of cells and enzymes. The book represents exploration of the pharmaceutical and biotechnological applications of polysaccharide hydrogels from Plantago ovata and Ocimum basilicum. The hydrogels have been characterized for physicochemical properties, rheological properties, toxicity and safety and have been used as multifunctional excipients for development of oral and buccal novel drug delivery systems. A new enzyme immobilization method using extrusion-spheronization has been described in this book.