ABSTRACT
Thermosensitive hydrogels are biocompatible materials and are potential platforms to be used for drug delivery and tissue engineering applications. The major advantage with these systems is the ease of administration as they are solution at room temperature and transforms into a semisolid gel depot at physiological temperatures. The formation of gel depot allows sustained release of the encapsulated drug through diffusion and following gel erosion. The unique 3D network structure of hydrogels and their hydrophilic properties resemble biological environments which can assist efficient cell growth and tissue regeneration. This chapter discusses different types of thermosensitive hydrogel materials, their characteristic properties and techniques used to determine these properties. The pharmaceutical and biomedical applications of the thermosensitive hydrogels are also discussed along with the examples of some commercially available systems.
