Fig. 2.

Illustration of different formulations to treat RA. The delivery carriers can transport a variety of drugs to treat RA, such as DMARDs (MTX), natural drugs (curcumin), NSAIDs (meloxicam), steroidal drugs (dexamethasone), etc. Among different formulations, hydrogels effectively provide a cushion between articulating joints to alleviate cartilage damage through immunomodulation. Hydrogels decrease friction, swellings, inflammations and pain, promoting bone/cartilage repair, recovery and regeneration. Moreover, hydrogels may carry nanoparticles, drugs, biomolecules and therapeutic modalities for targeted and prolonged delivery to the articulating joints. The figure has been reproduced from a template of an open-source platform of “biorender”.