Recently, the development of new materials with the desired characteristics for functional tissue engineering, ensuring tissue architecture and supporting cellular growth, has gained significant attention. Hydrogels, which possess similar properties to natural cellular matrixes, being able to repair or replace biological tissues and support the healing process through cellular proliferation and viability, are a challenge when designing tissue scaffolds. This paper provides new insights into hydrogel-based polymeric blends (hydroxypropyl cellulose/Pluronic F68), aiming to evaluate the contributions of both components in the development of new tissue scaffolds. In order to study the interactions within the hydrogel blends, FTIR and ¹HNMR spectroscopies were used. The porosity and the behavior in moisture medium were highlighted by SEM and DVS analyses. The biodegradability of the hydrogel blends was studied in a simulated biological medium. The hydrogel composition was determinant for the scaffold behavior: the HPC component was found to have a great influence on the BET and GAB areas, on the monolayer values estimated from sorption–desorption isotherms and on mucoadhesivity on small intestine mucosa, while the Pluronic F68 component improved the thermal stability. All blends were also found to have good mechanical strength and increased biocompatibility on the NHDF cell line. Based on their particular compositions and increased mucoadhesivity on small intestine mucosa, these polymeric blends could be effective in the repair or recovery of damaged cell membranes (due to the contribution of Pluronic F68) or in control drug-delivery intestinal formulations.

Allantoin and its β-cyclodextrin and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes 1:1 have been used to prepare carbopol-based mucoadhesive gels. The gelation process occurred by adjustment with glycerol 10% in the presence of triethanolamine. The structural features induced by the presence of allantoin and the corresponding β-cyclodextrins inclusion complexes have been first investigated by infrared spectroscopy highlighting strong interactions within the gels network and ideal crosslinks for the self-healing behavior. The hydrophilicity of the gels was investigated by the determination of the surface tension parameters and the free energy of hydration. The interfacial free energy values indicated prolonged biocompatibility with blood. The gels-water molecule interactions in terms of sorption, permeability, and diffusion coefficients were evaluated by dynamic vapor sorption analysis. The self-assembly process through intermolecular H-bonding, the high hydrophilicity, the mechanical performance, the hydrolytic stability in simulated biological media, the biocompatibility with normal human dermal fibroblast (NHDF) cells, the mucoadhesivity and antimicrobial activity on selected microorganism species (S. Aureus and C. albicans) of the allantoin-based gels recommend them as promising scaffold alternatives in regenerative medicine.