Natural-based hydrogels: from processing to applications

Abstract

Natural-based hydrogels have been widely used for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (TERM) as a platform to better mimic the native extracellular matrix of different tissues. Polysaccharides and proteins of natural origin have been functionalized, tuned, and processed used different methods to produce different scaffolds and medical devices. Herein, the recent reports dealing with the application of natural-based hydrogels in TERM strategies are overviewed. Moreover, different methodologies used to process the polymeric hydrogels are also described as well as the most relevant strategies used within the scope of TERM.