Tuning the gelation of thermoresponsive gels

Abstract

Thermoresponsive gels are exciting polymeric materials with many biomedical applications in medical devices, drug delivery, tissue engineering and bio-printing. Also, they have great potential to be used in 3-D printing and thus in the fabrication of many different devices and materials. As it is crucial for the application of these gels to be able to control and tailor the gelation temperature and concentration this was the main focus and point of discussion of this feature article. Thus, it is discussed in detail how by varying the molar mass, composition, stereochemistry and architecture the thermoresponsive properties of these gels are altered.

Statistical copolymers of N‐vinylpyrrolidone and 2‐(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate via RAFT: Monomer reactivity ratios, thermal properties, and kinetics of thermal decomposition

“…PDMAEMA is a prominent polymer used in biomedical applications such as drug and gene delivery and tissue engineering, as it is non‐toxic under certain conditions (pH, temperature, concentration etc.). In addition, PDMAEMA has the excellent ability to form hydrogels as well as antibacterial activity.…”

“…[20][21][22] Based on these achievements novel amphiphilic and double hydrophilic block copolymers and other more complicated structures have been prepared. [23][24][25][26] PDMAEMA is a prominent polymer used in biomedical applications such as drug and gene delivery [27][28][29][30][31][32] and tissue engineering, [33][34][35][36] as it is non-toxic under certain conditions (pH, temperature, concentration etc.). In addition, PDMAEMA has the excellent ability to form hydrogels as well as antibacterial activity.…”

Hybrid supramolecular gels of Fmoc-F/halloysite nanotubes: systems for sustained release of camptothecin

“…Hydrogels, due to their hydrophilic character and biocompatibility, have been used for the delivery of drug molecules; most hydrogels are polymeric, with networks consisting of covalently cross-linked natural or synthetic polymers. 28,29 However, the possibility of obtaining hybrid supramolecular hydrogels in the presence of HNTs has not been greatly investigated to date. Compared to polymeric hydrogels, supramolecular hydrogels offer different advantages, such as sol-gel reversibility under the action of different stimuli and the possibility of tailoring their properties to a given application by making small changes in the gelator structure.…”

Novel hydrogels containing Nafion and poly(ethylene oxide) based block copolymers

“…Injectable hydrogels are derived by natural polymers (such as hyaluronic acid 8 , cellulose 9 , proteins and peptides 10 , chitosan 11 ) or synthetic macromolecules (composed of acrylates methacrylates, vinyl ethers, cyclic esters, amino acids, acrylamides, etc.) 12 .…”