Multifunctional Hydrogels For Biomedical Applications

Multifunctional Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications

Multifunctional Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications Comprehensive resource presenting a thorough overview of the biomedical applications of hydrogels This book provides an overview of the development and applications of the clinically relevant hydrogels that are used particularly in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and drug delivery. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, it goes through the material from chemistry, materials science, biology, medicine, nanotechnology, and bioengineering points of view. Sample topics covered by the three well-qualified editors include: The design, functions, and developments of hydrogels Proteins and polysaccharides that mimic extracellular matrix Generation and applications of supramolecular hydrogels Design and functions of cell encapsulation systems Multifunctional Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications is a useful all-in-one reference work for materials scientists, polymer chemists, and bioengineers which provides a comprehensive, contemporary understanding of hydrogels and their applications targeting a wide variety of pathologies.

Multifunctional Hydrogels

Hydrogels are important polymer-based materials with innate fascinating properties and applications: they are three-dimensional, hydrophilic, polymeric networks that can absorb large amounts of water or aqueous fluids and are biocompatible, mechanically flexible, and soft. The incorporation of functionalities to develop smart and bioactive platforms has led to a myriad of applications. This book offers a comprehensive overview of multifunctional hydrogels, covering fundamentals, properties, and advanced applications in a progressive way. While each chapter can be read stand-alone, together they clearly describe the fundamental concepts of design, synthesis, and fabrication, as well as properties and performances of smart multifunctional hydrogels and their advanced applications in the biomedical, environmental, and robotics fields. This book: • Introduces readers to different hydrogel materials and the polymer types used to fabricate them. • Discusses conducting polymer hydrogels, nanocomposite hydrogels, and self-healing hydrogels. • Covers synthesis methodologies and fabrication techniques commonly used to confer certain structures and/or architectures. • Shows how hydrogels can be modified to incorporate new functionalities able to respond to physical and/or chemical changes. • Examines applications including bioelectronics, sensors and biosensors, tissue engineering, drug delivery, antipathogen applications, cancer theranostics, environmental applications, and soft robotics, with chapters showcasing the main advances achieved up to date in every field. Multifunctional Hydrogels: From Basic Concepts to Advanced Applications serves as a valuable resource for academic and industry researchers from interdisciplinary fields including materials science, chemistry, chemical engineering, bioengineering, physics, and pharmaceutical engineering.

Synthesis and Characterisation of Multifunctional Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications