Structural Design and Physicochemical Foundations of Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications

Title:Structural Design and Physicochemical Foundations of Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications

Volume: 25 Issue: 8

Author(s): Qingyong Li, Zhengxiang Ning, Jiaoyan Ren*Wenzhen Liao*

Affiliation:

• School of Food Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong,China

• Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou,China

Keywords: Hydrogels, tissue engineering, drug delivery, immunotherapies, vaccines, biomedical applications.

Abstract: Biomedical research, known as medical research, is conducive to support and promote the development of knowledge in the field of medicine. Hydrogels have been extensively used in many biomedical fields due to their highly absorbent and flexible properties. The smart hydrogels, especially, can respond to a broad range of external stimuli such as temperature, pH value, light, electric and magnetic fields. With excellent biocompatibility, tunable rheology, mechanical properties, porosity, and hydrated molecular structure, hydrogels are considered as promising candidate for simulating local tissue microenvironment. In this review article, we mainly focused on the most recent development of engineering synthetic hydrogels; moreover, the classification, properties, especially the biomedical applications including tissue engineering and cell scaffolding, drug and gene delivery, immunotherapies and vaccines, are summarized and discussed.

Cite this article as:

Li Qingyong , Ning Zhengxiang, Ren Jiaoyan*, Liao Wenzhen *, Structural Design and Physicochemical Foundations of Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications, Current Medicinal Chemistry 2018; 25 (8) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/0929867324666170818111630