Nanogels are nanosized crosslinked polymer networks capable of absorbing large
quantities of water. Specifically, smart nanogels are interesting because of
their ability to respond to biomedically relevant changes like pH,
temperature, etc. In the last few decades, hybrid nanogels or composites have
been developed to overcome the ever increasing demand for new materials in
this field. In this context, a hybrid refers to nanogels combined with
different polymers and/or with nanoparticles such as plasmonic, magnetic, and
carbonaceous nanoparticles, among others. Research activities are focused
nowadays on using multifunctional hybrid nanogels in nanomedicine, not only as
drug carriers but also as imaging and theranostic agents. In this review, we
will describe nanogels, particularly in the form of composites or hybrids
applied in nanomedicine