Recent advances in the synthesis of smart hydrogels

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Abstract

Understanding the surrounding atmosphere and reacting accordingly with a precise action are always fascinating features of a material.

Abstract

Understanding the surrounding atmosphere and reacting accordingly with a precise action are always fascinating features of a material. Materials that pose such responsiveness are called smart materials. Currently, research studies on smart materials are being accelerated exponentially around the world; this is also true for smart hydrogels. Smart hydrogels with various chemically and structurally responsive moieties exhibit excellent characteristics of reacting under different environmental conditions such as pH, temperature, light, electric field, and magnetic field as well as biological and chemical stimuli. These smart hydrogels are drawing the attention of researchers for a wide range of applications, for instance, in designing biomedical, industrial, agricultural, electrical, healthcare, and hygienic products. This review encompasses the latest developments in the field of smart hydrogel synthesis based on their unique features and different aspects of their responsive behaviors. Additionally, this paper covers some of the recent strategies for tuning special functional properties of smart hydrogels for targeted applications.

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Hydrogel: Preparation, characterization, and applications: A review

Enas M. Ahmed (2013)

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Hydrogels in pharmaceutical formulations.

N. Peppas (2000)

The availability of large molecular weight protein- and peptide-based drugs due to the recent advances in the field of molecular biology has given us new ways to treat a number of diseases. Synthetic hydrogels offer a possibly effective and convenient way to administer these compounds. Hydrogels are hydrophilic, three-dimensional networks, which are able to imbibe large amounts of water or biological fluids, and thus resemble, to a large extent, a biological tissue. They are insoluble due to the presence of chemical (tie-points, junctions) and/or physical crosslinks such as entanglements and crystallites. These materials can be synthesized to respond to a number of physiological stimuli present in the body, such as pH, ionic strength and temperature. The aim of this article is to present a concise review on the applications of hydrogels in the pharmaceutical field, hydrogel characterization and analysis of drug release from such devices.

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Advances in engineering hydrogels.

Yu Zhang, Ali Khademhosseini (2017)

Hydrogels are formed from hydrophilic polymer chains surrounded by a water-rich environment. They have widespread applications in various fields such as biomedicine, soft electronics, sensors, and actuators. Conventional hydrogels usually possess limited mechanical strength and are prone to permanent breakage. Further, the lack of dynamic cues and structural complexity within the hydrogels has limited their functions. Recent developments include engineering hydrogels that possess improved physicochemical properties, ranging from designs of innovative chemistries and compositions to integration of dynamic modulation and sophisticated architectures. We review major advances in designing and engineering hydrogels and strategies targeting precise manipulation of their properties across multiple scales.