Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-22-2018
Abstract
A hydrogel is a three-dimensional polymer network with high water content and has been attractive for many biomedical applications due to its excellent biocompatibility. However, classic hydrogels are mechanically weak and unsuitable for most physiological load-bearing situations. Thus, the development of tough hydrogels used in the biomedical field becomes critical. This work reviews various strategies to fabricate tough hydrogels with the introduction of non-covalent bonds and the construction of stretchable polymer networks and interpenetrated networks, such as the so-called double-network hydrogel. Additionally, the design of tough hydrogels for tissue adhesive, tissue engineering, and soft actuators is reviewed.
Publication Title
Gels
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Liu, Y.,
He, W.,
Zhang, Z.,
&
Lee, B. P.
(2018).
Recent developments in tough hydrogels for biomedical applications.
Gels,
4(2).
http://doi.org/10.3390/gels4020046
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/biomedical-fp/35
Version
Publisher's PDF
Publisher's Statement
© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Article deposited here in compliance with publisher policy. Publisher's version of record: https://doi.org/10.3390/gels4020046