Hydrogels: Properties and Applications in Biomedicine
Hydrogels are crosslinked polymer chains with three-dimensional (3D) network structures, which can absorb relatively large amounts of fluid. Because of the high water content, soft structure, and porosity of hydrogels, they closely resemble living tissues. Research in recent years shows that hydroge...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Molecules |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/9/2902 |
| _version_ | 1797503623560691712 |
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| author | Tzu-Chuan Ho Chin-Chuan Chang Hung-Pin Chan Tze-Wen Chung Chih-Wen Shu Kuo-Pin Chuang Tsai-Hui Duh Ming-Hui Yang Yu-Chang Tyan |
| author_facet | Tzu-Chuan Ho Chin-Chuan Chang Hung-Pin Chan Tze-Wen Chung Chih-Wen Shu Kuo-Pin Chuang Tsai-Hui Duh Ming-Hui Yang Yu-Chang Tyan |
| author_sort | Tzu-Chuan Ho |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hydrogels are crosslinked polymer chains with three-dimensional (3D) network structures, which can absorb relatively large amounts of fluid. Because of the high water content, soft structure, and porosity of hydrogels, they closely resemble living tissues. Research in recent years shows that hydrogels have been applied in various fields, such as agriculture, biomaterials, the food industry, drug delivery, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine. Along with the underlying technology improvements of hydrogel development, hydrogels can be expected to be applied in more fields. Although not all hydrogels have good biodegradability and biocompatibility, such as synthetic hydrogels (polyvinyl alcohol, polyacrylamide, polyethylene glycol hydrogels, etc.), their biodegradability and biocompatibility can be adjusted by modification of their functional group or incorporation of natural polymers. Hence, scientists are still interested in the biomedical applications of hydrogels due to their creative adjustability for different uses. In this review, we first introduce the basic information of hydrogels, such as structure, classification, and synthesis. Then, we further describe the recent applications of hydrogels in 3D cell cultures, drug delivery, wound dressing, and tissue engineering. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:53:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1354616ddf62478e87f546df76904350 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:53:21Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj.art-1354616ddf62478e87f546df769043502023-11-23T08:51:20ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492022-05-01279290210.3390/molecules27092902Hydrogels: Properties and Applications in BiomedicineTzu-Chuan Ho0Chin-Chuan Chang1Hung-Pin Chan2Tze-Wen Chung3Chih-Wen Shu4Kuo-Pin Chuang5Tsai-Hui Duh6Ming-Hui Yang7Yu-Chang Tyan8Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, TaiwanDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, TaiwanDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung 813, TaiwanBiomedical Engineering Research and Development Center, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, TaiwanDepartment of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, TaiwanGraduate Institute of Animal Vaccine Technology, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung 912, TaiwanDepartment of Medicinal and Applied Chemistry, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, TaiwanDepartment of Medical Education and Research, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung 813, TaiwanDepartment of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, TaiwanHydrogels are crosslinked polymer chains with three-dimensional (3D) network structures, which can absorb relatively large amounts of fluid. Because of the high water content, soft structure, and porosity of hydrogels, they closely resemble living tissues. Research in recent years shows that hydrogels have been applied in various fields, such as agriculture, biomaterials, the food industry, drug delivery, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine. Along with the underlying technology improvements of hydrogel development, hydrogels can be expected to be applied in more fields. Although not all hydrogels have good biodegradability and biocompatibility, such as synthetic hydrogels (polyvinyl alcohol, polyacrylamide, polyethylene glycol hydrogels, etc.), their biodegradability and biocompatibility can be adjusted by modification of their functional group or incorporation of natural polymers. Hence, scientists are still interested in the biomedical applications of hydrogels due to their creative adjustability for different uses. In this review, we first introduce the basic information of hydrogels, such as structure, classification, and synthesis. Then, we further describe the recent applications of hydrogels in 3D cell cultures, drug delivery, wound dressing, and tissue engineering.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/9/2902hydrogelmedical application3D cell culturedrug deliverywound dressingtissue engineering |
| spellingShingle | Tzu-Chuan Ho Chin-Chuan Chang Hung-Pin Chan Tze-Wen Chung Chih-Wen Shu Kuo-Pin Chuang Tsai-Hui Duh Ming-Hui Yang Yu-Chang Tyan Hydrogels: Properties and Applications in Biomedicine Molecules hydrogel medical application 3D cell culture drug delivery wound dressing tissue engineering |
| title | Hydrogels: Properties and Applications in Biomedicine |
| title_full | Hydrogels: Properties and Applications in Biomedicine |
| title_fullStr | Hydrogels: Properties and Applications in Biomedicine |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hydrogels: Properties and Applications in Biomedicine |
| title_short | Hydrogels: Properties and Applications in Biomedicine |
| title_sort | hydrogels properties and applications in biomedicine |
| topic | hydrogel medical application 3D cell culture drug delivery wound dressing tissue engineering |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/9/2902 |
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