Gelatin-Alginate Gels and Their Enzymatic Modifications: Controlling the Delivery of Small Molecules

The release of molecules entrapped within biogels is dictated by diffusion laws. Innovative biogel architectures are conceived and tested to control small molecule delivery from gelatin gels. The ionic interactions modulate the release of small molecules. Alginate is then added to gelatin gels and further hydrolyzed; the influence of viscosity is discussed. Next, various mixed gels are compared, such as a gelatin‐alginate IPN and the original architecture of an alginate gel entrapped in a gelatin gel with or without a polysaccharidase. The relative influence of ionic interactions and diffusional constraints on the delivery of small charged molecules is explored, and a solution for controlling diffusion is proposed for any situation. The use of various gelatin gels containing alginate as a molecular delivery system is described. The concept, development and use of several protein‐polysaccharide architectures to retain very small molecules and control their release is described. The strategy presented here resides in the use of enzymes to hydrolyze one of the two phases of the gel in a highly controlled way.