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Advances of Hydrogel Applications

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 January 2022) | Viewed by 16475

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute of Textiles and Clothing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong
Interests: healthcare product development; AI; big data; hydrogel applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Hydrogels made of natural and synthetic polymers which are hydrophilic in nature are widely being used in biomedical areas, especially for drug delivery, wound dressing, and tissue engineering. In recent times, hydrogels are commercially being applied in soft contact lenses, diapers, electrospinning, biosensing, and bioprinting. The recent development of in situ hydrogels which are made up of thermoresponsive polymers give new dimensions to research in the area of drug delivery. The smart drug delivery systems made up of thermoresponsive hydrogels render control over the physicochemical properties and spatiotemporal control over the release of various drugs. The stimuli-responsive hydrogels which can modulate under the influence of external stimuli such as light, pH, and ultra-sound are finding applications in biomedical, food packaging, and water treatment.

Prof. Dr. Patrick Chi-leung Hui
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Hydrogel—biomedical applications
  • Stimuli-responsive polymers—biomedical applications
  • Thermo-responsive polymers—biomedical applications
  • Hydrogel—drug delivery and tissue engineering
  • Chitosan–hydrogel drug delivery
  • Natural polymer-based thermoresponsive hydrogel drug delivery
  • Poloxamer-based thermoresponsive hydrogel drug delivery

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 4958 KiB  
Article
Effect of Poly(acrylamide-acrylic acid) on the Fire Resistance and Anti-Aging Properties of Transparent Flame-Retardant Hydrogel Applied in Fireproof Glass
by Feiyue Wang, Mengtao Cai and Long Yan
Polymers 2021, 13(21), 3668; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13213668 - 25 Oct 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3533
Abstract
Poly(acrylamide-acrylic acid) (P(AM-co-AA)) was synthesized via the copolymerization of acrylamide and acrylic acid and well characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Afterward, the obtained P(AM-co-AA) was blended with flame retardants to prepare transparent flame-retardant hydrogel applied in the fireproof glass. The influence of [...] Read more.
Poly(acrylamide-acrylic acid) (P(AM-co-AA)) was synthesized via the copolymerization of acrylamide and acrylic acid and well characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Afterward, the obtained P(AM-co-AA) was blended with flame retardants to prepare transparent flame-retardant hydrogel applied in the fireproof glass. The influence of poly(acrylamide-acrylic acid) on fire resistance and anti-aging properties of the transparent flame-retardant hydrogels were studied by assorted analysis methods. The optical transparency analysis shows that the light transmittance of the transparent flame-retardant hydrogel gradually decreases with the decreasing mass ratio of acrylamide to acrylic acid in P(AM-co-AA). Heat insulation testing shows that the heat insulation performance of fireproof glass applying the transparent flame-retardant hydrogel firstly decreases and then increases with decreasing mass ratio of acrylamide to acrylic acid in P(AM-co-AA). When the mass ratio of acrylamide to acrylic acid is 1:2, the obtained P(AM-co-AA) endows the resulting flame-retardant hydrogel applied in fireproof glass with the lowest light transmittance of 81.3% and lowest backside temperature of 131.4 °C at 60 min among the samples, which is attributed to the formation of a more dense and expanded char to prevent the heat transfer during combustion, as supported by the digital photos of char residues. The results of TG analysis indicate that P(AM-co-AA) imparts high thermal stability to the resulting hydrogels due to the hydrogen bonds between carboxyl and amide groups. The accelerated aging test shows that the transparent flame-retardant hydrogel containing P(AM-co-AA) is less affected by aging conditions. Especially, when the mass ratio of acrylamide to acrylic acid in P(AM-co-AA) is 4:1, the resulting transparent flame-retardant hydrogel shows a light transmittance of 82.9% and backside temperature of 173.1 °C at 60 min after 7 aging cycles, exhibiting the best comprehensive properties among the samples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances of Hydrogel Applications)
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11 pages, 3277 KiB  
Article
Dual Temperature and Metal Salts-Responsive Interpenetrating Polymer Networks Composed of Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) and Polyethylene Glycol
by Junta Sano and Shigeki Habaue
Polymers 2021, 13(11), 1750; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13111750 - 27 May 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2800
Abstract
Novel interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) composed of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (poly-NIPAM) and polyethers—namely, polyethylene glycol (PEG) and poly(tetramethylene oxide)—were synthesized in the absence and presence of polysiloxane containing a silanol residue. Gelation was accomplished using end-capped polyethers with trimethoxysilyl moieties and proceeded through [...] Read more.
Novel interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) composed of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (poly-NIPAM) and polyethers—namely, polyethylene glycol (PEG) and poly(tetramethylene oxide)—were synthesized in the absence and presence of polysiloxane containing a silanol residue. Gelation was accomplished using end-capped polyethers with trimethoxysilyl moieties and proceeded through simultaneous radical gelation of NIPAM and condensation of the silyl groups to form siloxane linkages. Thus, a novel one-step method constructing an IPN structure was provided. The obtained IPNs showed a gentle temperature-responsive volume change in water owing to the constructed poly-NIPAM gel component. In addition, a specific color-change response to chemical stimuli, such as CuCl2 and AgNO3 in water, was observed only when both components of poly-NIPAM and PEG existed in a gel form. For example, a single network gel composed of poly-NIPAM or PEG was isolated as a pale blue hydrogel, whereas IPNs composed of poly-NIPAM and PEG components turned yellow after swelling in an aqueous CuCl2 solution (0.1 M, pale blue). Dual-responsive functionalities of the synthesized hydrogels to temperature and metal salts, along with volume and color changes, were demonstrated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances of Hydrogel Applications)
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Review

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16 pages, 2234 KiB  
Review
Review of Applications and Future Prospects of Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogel Based on Thermo-Responsive Biopolymers in Drug Delivery Systems
by Sudipta Chatterjee and Patrick Chi-leung Hui
Polymers 2021, 13(13), 2086; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13132086 - 24 Jun 2021
Cited by 87 | Viewed by 9466
Abstract
Some of thermo-responsive polysaccharides, namely, cellulose, xyloglucan, and chitosan, and protein-like gelatin or elastin-like polypeptides can exhibit temperature dependent sol–gel transitions. Due to their biodegradability, biocompatibility, and non-toxicity, such biomaterials are becoming popular for drug delivery and tissue engineering applications. This paper aims [...] Read more.
Some of thermo-responsive polysaccharides, namely, cellulose, xyloglucan, and chitosan, and protein-like gelatin or elastin-like polypeptides can exhibit temperature dependent sol–gel transitions. Due to their biodegradability, biocompatibility, and non-toxicity, such biomaterials are becoming popular for drug delivery and tissue engineering applications. This paper aims to review the properties of sol–gel transition, mechanical strength, drug release (bioavailability of drugs), and cytotoxicity of stimuli-responsive hydrogel made of thermo-responsive biopolymers in drug delivery systems. One of the major applications of such thermos-responsive biopolymers is on textile-based transdermal therapy where the formulation, mechanical, and drug release properties and the cytotoxicity of thermo-responsive hydrogel in drug delivery systems of traditional Chinese medicine have been fully reviewed. Textile-based transdermal therapy, a non-invasive method to treat skin-related disease, can overcome the poor bioavailability of drugs from conventional non-invasive administration. This study also discusses the future prospects of stimuli-responsive hydrogels made of thermo-responsive biopolymers for non-invasive treatment of skin-related disease via textile-based transdermal therapy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances of Hydrogel Applications)
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