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.
