Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a naturally occurring glycosaminoglycan widely recognised for its biocompatibility, biodegradability, and unique viscoelastic properties. Its structural versatility enables the formation of hydrogels with tuneable physicochemical characteristics, making it a valuable biomaterial in drug delivery and regenerative medicine. This review outlines HA properties, gel-forming approaches, and modern medicine and bioengineering applications. It provides a comprehensive overview of advances in HA production strategies, including microbial fermentation, animal tissue extraction, and production in vitro. Particular attention is given to gel-forming mechanisms, emphasising physical and chemical crosslinking methods like carbodiimide crosslinking, radical polymerisation, and enzymatic crosslinking. Advances in HA-based drug delivery systems and applications of HA-based materials in tissue engineering are also discussed, focusing on HA-based hydrogels with conjugates and combinations with compounds like collagen, alginate, and chitosan.

Since the mid-19th century, researchers have explored the potential of bio-based polymeric materials for diverse applications, with particular promise in medicine. This review provides a focused and detailed examination of natural and synthetic biopolymers relevant to tissue engineering and biomedical applications. It emphasizes the structural diversity, functional characteristics, and processing strategies of major classes of biopolymers, including polysaccharides (e.g., hyaluronic acid, alginate, chitosan, bacterial cellulose) and proteins (e.g., collagen, silk fibroin, albumin), as well as synthetic biodegradable polymers such as polycaprolactone, polylactic acid, and polyhydroxybutyrate. The central aim of this manuscript is to elucidate how intrinsic properties—such as molecular weight, crystallinity, water retention, and bioactivity—affect the performance of biopolymers in biomedical contexts, particularly in drug delivery, wound healing, and scaffold-based tissue regeneration. This review also highlights recent advancements in polymer functionalization, composite formation, and fabrication techniques (e.g., electrospinning, bioprinting), which have expanded the application potential of these materials. By offering a comparative analysis of structure–property–function relationships across a diverse range of biopolymers, this review provides a comprehensive reference for selecting and engineering materials tailored to specific biomedical challenges. It also identifies key limitations, such as production scalability and mechanical performance, and suggests future directions for developing clinically viable and environmentally sustainable biomaterial platforms.

The use of a controlled-release drug carrier is an innovative solution for the treatment of local infections, in particular in dentistry, skin diseases, and in open wounds. The biocompatibility, biodegradability, the possibility of a large amount of drug adsorbed (especially those with hydrophilic properties), and the ability to create structures of any shape and size are the reasons for hydrogels to be frequently studied. The main disadvantage of hydrogel carriers is the rapid rate of drug release; hence, in this study, an attempt was made to additionally chemically cross-link 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethyl aminopropyl)-1-carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) with the hyaluronic acid–alginate (HA–SAL) structure. The answer to significantly reduce the mass flux typical for hydrogel structure was to surround it with a polymer layer using a dry cover. By coating the carriers with polylactide, the release time was increased by around forty times. As the carriers were designed to reduce local bacterial infections, among others in dentistry, the released antibiotics were amoxycillin, metronidazole, and doxycycline.

Metallogels constitute a rapidly expanding class of hybrid soft materials in which metal ions, metal complexes, or metal-containing nanoparticles play a decisive structural and functional role within a three-dimensional gel network. Their unique combination of supramolecular assembly, metal-ligand coordination, and dynamic network behaviour provides tunable mechanical, optical, electrical, redox, and catalytic properties that are not accessible in conventional hydrogels or organogels. This review systematically summarises current knowledge on metallogels, beginning with a classification based on matrix type, dominant metal interaction and functional output, spanning metallohydrogels, metal-organic gels, metal-phenolic gels, nanoparticle-based gels, polymer-based metallogels and low-molecular-weight metallogels. Key synthesis pathways are discussed, including coordination-chemistry-driven formation, metal-ligand self-assembly, in situ reduction, diffusion-mediated strategies, sol-gel-like polymerisation, enzyme-assisted routes, and bio-derived fabrication. Particular emphasis is placed on structure-function relationships that enable the development of catalytic, conductive, luminescent, antimicrobial, and biomedical metallogels. The examples compiled here highlight the versatility and transformative potential of metallogels in next-generation soft technologies, including sensing, energy conversion, wound healing, drug delivery, and emerging applications such as soft electronics and on-skin catalytic or bioactive patches. By mapping current progress and emerging design principles, this review aims to support the rational engineering of metallogels for advanced technological and biomedical applications

Beer is a drink that has been a staple in human history, evolving from its beginning in antiquity to the present day. Nowadays, large breweries and other companies have set up laboratories focused on finding and developing new yeast strains for the brewing sector to meet consumers’ demand for new beer styles. Monascus spp. are ascomycota that have been known for hundreds of years. They are widely popular in Asian cuisine, especially in fermented foods. Studies show that Monascus spp. produce numerous food dyes and substances that positively influence human health. In the presented work, Monascus ruber was tested as a potential microorganism for the beer industry. Experiments included fermentation trials with Monascus ruber in four regimes: in aerobic condition, anaerobic condition, anaerobic condition with pH kept above 4.5, and in anaerobic condition with pH set to 4.5. As a reference, commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces pastorianus were used. Fermentation parameters were evaluated by measurements of ethanol and extract level. The final product was tested for its colour in order to evaluate if monascus-derived pigments were present in the beverage. Moreover, a qualitative analysis of lovastatin and citrinin was performed in order to check if those monascus metabolites were present. Finally, small-scale consumer tests were performed in order to check the organoleptic properties of the obtained beverage. Results show that Monascus ruber is able to ferment beer wort in a similar manner as Saccharomyces strains, reaching a slightly lower degree of attenuation. Nevertheless, a longer lag phase was observed in monascus trials, except for the trial with preset pH at 4.5. The most visible change in the product was a reddish colour that appeared in the sample in aerobic conditions. The qualitative analysis showed that lovastatin and citrinin were present in the tested samples. Consumer tests show that experimental beer has a different taste than Saccharomyces-fermented products. Although the presented results are preliminary, they could be a good starting point for further research on monascus-based beverages.

Poor drug bioavailability remains a major challenge in pharmaceutical development, primarily due to low aqueous solubility, limited membrane permeability and rapid met-abolic degradation, which significantly reduce therapeutic efficacy. In this context, nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems have emerged as an effective strategy to over-come these limitations. This review summarizes the main types of nanocarriers, including lipid-based, polymeric, inorganic and hybrid systems, and discusses their design and functional properties. Nanocarriers enhance drug performance by improving solubility, protecting active compounds from degradation, enabling controlled and sustained re-lease, and facilitating targeted delivery to specific tissues. The influence of physicochemi-cal parameters, such as particle size, surface charge and functionalization, on pharmaco-kinetics and pharmacodynamics is also addressed. Representative case studies illustrate the successful application of nanocarrier formulations in improving bioavailability and therapeutic outcomes. Despite these advances, challenges related to toxicity, large-scale production and regulatory approval remain. Overall, nanocarrier-based systems represent a versatile and promising platform for enhancing drug bioavailability and advancing modern pharmaceutical therapies.