The book provides experienced as well as young researchers with a topical view of the vibrant field of soft nanotechnology. In addition to elucidating the underlying concepts and principles that drive continued innovation, major parts of each chapter are devoted to detailed discussions of potential and already realized applications of micro- and nanogel- based materials. Examples of the diverse areas impacted by these materials are biocompatible coatings for implants, films for controlled drug release, self-healing soft materials and responsive hydrogels that react to varying pH conditions, temperature or light.

Polymer systems can be developed into a variety of functional forms to meet industrial and scientific applications. In general, they are presented in four common physical forms: (1) linear free chains in solution, (2) covalently or physically cross-linked reversible gels, (3) micro and nanoparticles, and (4) chains adsorbed or in surface-grafted form. Hydrogels are polymeric particles consisting of water-soluble polymer chains, chemically or physically connected using, in general, a cross-linking agent. These materials do not dissolve in water but may swell considerably in aqueous medium, demonstrating an extraordinary ability (>20%) to absorb water into the reticulated structure. Such features make these materials promising tools in the biomedical field, especially as controlled drug release systems. This chapter describes recent progress in the development and applications of polymeric nanostructured hydrogels, mainly in the context of biomedical devices. Additionally, it reports the significant advances in synthesis and characterization strategies of these materials. Special attention is devoted to smart or stimuli-responsive bionanogels, which mimic the property of living systems responding to environmental changes such as pH, temperature, light, pressure, electric field, chemicals, or ionic strength, or a combination of different stimuli. Consequently, these bionanogels offer an efficient solution to various biomedical limitations in the field of drug administration.

Hydrogel micro- and nanoparticles (microgels and nanogels) are a promising class of drug delivery vehicles. Composed of hydrophilic polymers arranged into a cross-linked network structure, nanogels show several attractive features for the delivery of macromolecule therapeutics. For instance, the hydrated, porous internal cavity of the nanogel may serve as a high capacity compartment for loading macromolecules, whereas the periphery of the nanogel may be used as a scaffold for conjugating cell-specific targeting moieties. This dissertation presents recent investigations of nanogels as targeted delivery vehicles for oligonucleotides to cancer cells, while exploring new nanogel chemistries that enable future in vivo applications. For instance, synthetic efforts have produced particles capable of erosion into low molar mass constituents, providing a possible mechanism of particle clearance after repeated administration in vivo. In another example, the microgel network chemistry was tuned to promote the encapsulation of charged proteins. In parallel with those synthetic efforts, new light scattering methodologies were developed to accurately quantify the particle behaviors (e.g. loading, erosion). Using multiangle light scattering (MALS), changes in particle molar mass and radius were measured, providing a quantitative and direct approach for monitoring nanogel erosion and macromolecule encapsulation. The new particle chemistries demonstrated, together with enabling light scattering methods, will catalyze the development of improved delivery vehicles in the near future.

This book provides comprehensive information of the nanotechnology-based pharmaceutical product development including a diverse range of arenas such as liposomes, nanoparticles, fullerenes, hydrogels, thermally responsive externally activated theranostics (TREAT), hydrogels, microspheres, micro- and nanoemulsions and carbon nanomaterials. It covers the micro- and nanotechnological aspects for pharmaceutical product development with the product development point of view and also covers the industrial aspects, novel technologies, stability studies, validation, safety and toxicity profiles, regulatory perspectives, scale-up technologies and fundamental concept in the development of products. Salient Features: Covers micro- and nanotechnology approaches with current trends with safety and efficacy in product development. Presents an overview of the recent progress of stability testing, reverse engineering, validation and regulatory perspectives as per regulatory requirements. Provides a comprehensive overview of the latest research related to micro- and nanotechnologies including designing, optimisation, validation and scale-up of micro- and nanotechnologies. Is edited by two well-known researchers by contribution of vivid chapters from renowned scientists across the globe in the field of pharmaceutical sciences. Dr. Neelesh Kumar Mehra is working as an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutics & Biopharmaceutics at the Department of Pharmaceutics, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER), Hyderabad, India. He received ‘TEAM AWARD’ for successful commercialisation of an ophthalmic suspension product. He has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications in highly reputed international journals and more than 10 book chapter contributions. He has filed patents on manufacturing process and composition to improved therapeutic efficacy for topical delivery. He guided PhD and MS students for their dissertations/research projects. He has received numerous outstanding awards including Young Scientist Award and Team Award for his research output. He recently published one edited book, ‘Dendrimers in Nanomedicine: Concept, Theory and Regulatory Perspectives’, in CRC Press. Currently, he is editing books on nano drug delivery-based products with Elsevier Pvt Ltd. He has rich research and teaching experience in the formulation and development of complex, innovative ophthalmic and injectable biopharmaceutical products including micro- and nanotechnologies for regulated market. Dr. Arvind Gulbake is working as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical & Population Health Informatics, at DIT University, Dehradun, India. He has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications in highly reputed international journals, four book chapters and a patent contribution. He has received outstanding awards including Young Scientist Award and BRG Travel Award for his research. He is an assistant editor for IJAP. He guided PhD and MS students for their dissertations/research projects. He has successfully completed extramural project funded by SERB, New Delhi, Government of India. He has more than 12 years of research and teaching experience in the formulation and development of nanopharmaceuticals.

The only book to give a complete picture of current hydrogel research, covering all the major applications as well as the fundamental principles behind them.

This book discusses recent advances in hydrogels, including their generation and applications and presents a compendium of fundamental concepts. It highlights the most important hydrogel materials, including physical hydrogels, chemical hydrogels, and nanohydrogels and explores the development of hydrogel-based novel materials that respond to external stimuli, such as temperature, pressure, pH, light, biochemicals or magnetism, which represent a new class of intelligent materials. With their multiple cooperative functions, hydrogel-based materials exhibit different potential applications ranging from biomedical engineering to water purification systems. This book covers key topics including superabsorbent polymer hydrogel; intelligent hydrogels for drug delivery; hydrogels from catechol-conjugated materials; nanomaterials loaded hydrogel; electrospinning of hydrogels; biopolymers-based hydrogels; injectable hydrogels; interpenetrating-polymer-network hydrogels: radiation- and sonochemical synthesis of micro/nano/macroscopic hydrogels; DNA-based hydrogels; and multifunctional applications of hydrogels. It will prove a valuable resource for researchers working in industry and academia alike.

Nanostructuring of materials is a task at the heart of many modern disciplines in mechanical engineering, as well as optics, electronics, and the life sciences. This book includes an introduction to the relevant nonlinear optical processes associated with very short laser pulses for the generation of structures far below the classical optical diffraction limit of about 200 nanometers as well as coverage of state-of-the-art technical and biomedical applications. These applications include silicon and glass wafer processing, production of nanowires, laser transfection and cell reprogramming, optical cleaning, surface treatments of implants, nanowires, 3D nanoprinting, STED lithography, friction modification, and integrated optics. The book highlights also the use of modern femtosecond laser microscopes and nanoscopes as novel nanoprocessing tools.