Super Porous Hydrogels: A Review

Super porous hydrogels (SPHs) basically developed initially create as a novel drug delivery system to absorb and continue to hold the drugs in the gastric medium which allows absorption in stomach and upper part of the gastrointestinal tract. These systems get swollen in the stomach instantly and in the harsh stomach environment they maintain their integrity, while the pharmaceutical active ingredient is being released. Instant and fast swelling property of hydrogel is based on water absorption through open porous structure by capillary force. SPHs have the poor mechanical strength which has got over by developing the second-generation SPH composites (SPHCs) and the third-generation SPH hybrids (SPHHs). The present review has been focused on the preparation, characterization and application of SPHs.