Polymeric Hydrogels: Recent Advances in Toxic Metal Ion Removal and Anticancer Drug Delivery Applications

In recent years, many research groups paying attention in removal of heavy metal ions from polluted areas and also controlled drug delivery applications with the hydrogels based on both biomaterials and synthetic grade. Contamination with these heavy metal ions has also increased public concerns because of their toxicity even at lower concentrations, besides non-biodegradability and tendency of bioaccumulation. The increasing demand for the recovery of these metals from industrial effluents has elevated the development and the testing of new sorbing materials. Cancer is a class of disease which is characterized by abnormal cell growth in an uncontrolled manner in all over the body. Surgical intervention, radiation, and chemotherapeutic drug are major current cancer treatments. The use of chemotherapeutic treatment is often restricted by solubility of drugs, adverse systemic toxicity, and the appearance of drug resistance. Owing to these difficulties, there is a great demand to innovative drug delivery systems for better controlled and site specific delivery of antitumor drugs and that can overcome solubility and resistance problems. This review covers the recent developments of hydrogels in separation science and drug delivery applications. Synthetic methodologies for the fabrication of hydrogels and their responsiveness (pH and thermoresponsive) were discussed. In addition to this, we are focused on an overview of potential polymeric hydrogels for metal ion removal and anticancer drug release, paying attention to their efficacy in metal removal, and controlled release of 5-fluorouracil.