Hydrogels Flashcards
Hydrogels
mimics the physical properties of biological tissues, excellent candidate for various medical and biological applications
Crosslinks may be physical or chemical:
- by reaction of one or more monomers with pendant functional groups
- hydrogen or ionic bonding
- van der waals
Classification of Hydrogels
based on origin
- natural hydrogels: derived from natural sources such as polysaccharides and proteins (alginate: algae, chitosan: shrimp)
- synthetic hydrogels: created from synthetic polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyethyleneglycol (PEG) (should know the structures of these)
- chemically crosslinked hydrogels: exhibit permanent linkages formed by covalent bonds
- physically crosslinked hydrogels: formed through temporary interactions like hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactions
Key properties of hydrogels for biomedical applications
- ease of chemical modification
- in situ formability
- control over 3D structure/morphology
- mild conditions for cell/protein encapsulation
- degradability
- responsive swelling “smart” hydrogels (contain certain functional group that can respond to change)
- soft tissue-like structure/properties
Degree of swelling
degree of swelling quantified by: (put in weight compare vol or weight to the dry state)
- volume
- weight
why is the degree of swelling important?
- solute diffusion coefficient through the hydrogel, drug delivery system
- higher degree of swelling faster drug release- surface properties and surface mobility
- optical properties
- mechanical properties
- high swelling enhances flexibility, permeability, and drug release but may reduce mechanical strength and stability
polymer-based hydrogel has to have at least
10% of total weight for a material to be a hydrogel.
when content of water over 95% of total weight or vol, hydrogel is
superabsorbent
Chemically linked hydrogel
can maintain shape before and after hydrolyzation, covalent bonds
Gel transitions through in situ crosslinking physical gels
- add ionic crosslinker
- change temp
- change pH
Gel transitions through in situ crosslinking covalent gels
polymerization initiation (light, temp,… )
Formation of crosslinked hydrogels
- by polymerization
- with cross-linkers (functional group that can join polymer or monomers together)
Hydrogel formation: physical cross-linking
- heating/cool of a polymer solution
- ionic crosslinking
- hydrogen bonding
Hydrogel formation: chemical cross-linking
- chemical cross-linkers
- grafting
Synthetic polymers advantages
- precise control over composition
- can be tailored to give a wide range of properties to meet specific needs
- large scale production
- low immunogenicity
- no biological pathogens or contaminants