ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the colon-specific drug delivery system and the various types of hydrogels of alginate (ALG) which are used in colon-specific drug delivery system. The improvement in formulation with ALG for colon-targeted oral drug delivery system has increased an interest among the scientists because of its drug release and compatibility. The natural polymer composition, sequence, and molecular weights vary with the source and species that produce the natural polymer. ALGs are presently used as spiral dressing materials for the treatment of acute or chronic wounds. ALG is both biopolymer as well as polyelectrolyte that are measured to be biocompatible, nonhazardous, biodegradable, and nonimmunogenic. ALG is anionic and linear polysaccharide obtained from brown seaweed like Laminaria hyperborea, Macrocystis pyrifera, and Ascophyllum nodosum and also characterized as an anionic copolymer included of mannuronic acid and guluronic acid units arranged in an irregular block-wise pattern.
