Hydrogels: Biological Properties and Applications

ISBN-13: 9788847056114 / Angielski / Miękka / 2014 / 197 str.

Rolando Barbucci

Opis

Hydrogels are a particular class of compounds of which the major constituent is wa ter. In fact, water is present in the hydrogel up to 90% and is contained in a scaffold which is generally polymeric and obviously hydrophilic. As a result, hydrogels re semble each other even though obtained from different polymers. Nevertheless, the polymeric matrix gives particular characteristics to the hydrogel leading to applica tions in different fields. Water is the main element of the human body, thus hydrogels are excellent struc tures to favourably shelter proteins, cells etc., without altering their characteristics and properties. This is why hydrogels are mainly designed and synthesized for their usein thebiologicalfield;hence the name biohydrogels. Their propertiespoint totheir use as scaffolds for stem cells which has turned out to be a very promising technique for tissue and organ regeneration. For this reason their investigation falls within the Biomaterials Science. Paradoxically, the conceptual simplicity of hydrogelsupto nowhas led to a super ficialstudy of their chemistry, chemical physics and mechanics preventing their wider application in the human body due to a lack of knowledge of biological component interactions. For example, it is not clear, yet, how to store hydrogels without alter ing their characteristics. In fact, hydrogels re-hydrated after lyophylization or oven drying, generally show corrupted properties once swollen in water, in comparison with their native counterparts."

Spis treści

Hydrogels and Tissue Engineering.- Structure-Property Relationships in Hydrogels.- Water and Surfaces: a Linkage Unexpectedly Profound.- Polysaccharide Based Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications.- Hydrogels for Healing.- Stereocomplexed PEG-PLA Hydrogels.- Hybrid Hydrogels Based on Poly(vinylalcohol)-Chitosan Blends and Relevant CNT Composites.- Poloxamine Hydrogels: from low Cell Adhesion Substrates to Matrices with Improved Cytocompatibility for Tissue Engineering Applications.- Biohydrogels for the In Vitro Re-construction and In Situ Regeneration of Human Skin.- Chitosan-Based Beads for Controlled Release of Proteins.- Synthesis of Stimuli-Sensitive Hydrogels in the ?m and sub-?m Range by Radiation Techniques and their Application.- Stimuli-Sensitive Composite Microgels.- Novel pH/Temperature-Sensitive Hydrogels Based on Poly(?-Amino Ester) for Controlled Protein Delivery.- On-Off Switching Properties of ultra thin Intelligent Temperature-Responsive Polymer Modified Surface.

Blurb

The studies on Biohydrogels have had a rapid, exponential evolution in the last

decades. Starting from one of the first applications of hydrogels in surgery,

polyvinylalcohol crosslinked with formaldehyde under the trade name of Ivalon, we

passed through PolyHema hydrogels as contact lens materials, hydrophilic

polyurethanes (HPU), biodegradable hydrogels for both reconstructive surgery and

pharmaceutical delivery systems, and finally more recently, one decade old, the

thermoreversible and transient network hydrogels. Of course all these classes of

hydrogels have been always and continuosly studied, improving their performance and

field of applications. Recently, most of them have been used as scaffolds for cells,

even stem ones, for regenerative applications (tissue engineering). Nevertheless

hydrogels are odd materials and many studies still have to be carried out to fully

understand their behaviour from mechanical, physicochemical and biological point of

view.