Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Polymeric Supramolecular Hydrogels
as Materials for Medicine
Sebastian Hackelbusch and Sebastian Seiffert
Abstract
This chapter describes some recent research in the field of supramolecular
polymeric hydrogels. Eight examples are discussed that represent a small view of
the plethora of these advanced functional materials. The examples described herein
exhibit tunable physicochemical properties that allow for adjustment towards tar-
geted applications in the biomedical field, including protein immobilization, tissue
engineering, drug delivery, and dermocosmetics. The highly adaptive supramolecular
polymeric hydrogels are likely to have a bright future as materials for medicine.
Keywords
Supramolecular
·
Hydrogen bonding
·
Ionic bonding
·
Metal
complexation
·
Adaptive materials
1 Introduction
Polymeric hydrogels consist of three-dimensional networks of crosslinked
macromolecules that entrap large amounts of water. A common scheme of clas-
sification distinguishes physical and chemical hydrogels, depending on the
thermodynamic and kinetic strength of chain crosslinking [
1
]. Chemical chain
connection can be considered irreversible on experimental timescales; it is either
achieved by covalent bond formation between functionalized precursor polymer
chains, including Schiff-base formation [
2
-
4
], Michael-type addition [
3
,
5
], and
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