Hydrogels play an important role in macroscale delivery systems by enabling the transport of cells and molecules. Here we present a facile and benign method to prepare a dextran-based hydrogel (Dex-sHSA) using human serum albumin (HSA) as a simultaneous drug carrier and covalent cross-linker. Drug binding affinity of the albumin protein was conserved in the thiolation step using 2-iminothiolane...

PURPOSE To evaluate the influence of surface treatment of silicone-hydrogel CL on lens hydrophobicity, protein adsorption and microbial colonisation by studying several silicone hydrogel contact lenses (CL) with and without surface treatment. The lenses used in this study were Balafilcon A, Lotrafilcon A, Lotrafilcon B and Galyfilcon A. A conventional hydrogel CL (Etafilcon A) was also tested. ...

Polyacrylamide (PAM) was used as a matrix material for fabricating novel nanocomposite hydrogels reinforced with natural chitosan nanofibers (CNFs) via in situ free-radical polymerization. The nanocomposite's structure, strength, morphology and rheological properties were investigated. The results showed that the CNFs had a strong interaction with PAM through hydrogen and covalent bondings. The...

Hydrogel-based materials are widely employed in the biomedical field. With regard to central nervous system (CNS) neurodegenerative disorders, the design of injectable nanocomposite hydrogels for in situ drug or cell release represents an interesting and minimally invasive solution that might play a key role in the development of successful treatments. In particular, biocompatible and biodegrad...

Biodegradable polymers can serve as barriers to prevent the post-operative intestinal adhesion. Herein, we synthesized a biodegradable triblock copolymer poly(ɛ-caprolactone-co-lactide)-b-poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(ɛ-caprolactone-co-lactide) (PCLA-PEG-PCLA). The concentrated polymeric aqueous solution was injectable, and a hydrogel could be rapidly formed due to percolation of a self-assemble...

Thermoreversible polymer hydrogels (TRGs) are physical aqueous networks triggered by temperature that find potential applications in tissue engineering (TE) and drug/gene delivery. When systems with lower critical solution (LCST) behaviour used, the of is mixed cells or drugs/genes, depending on desired application, at room then injected vivo to form a hydrogel. This situ forming hydrogel acts ...

In this paper, we present a microfluidic system to produce micrometer-size collagen hydrogel particles. Aqueous droplets containing collagen molecules were generated in the continuous phase of a polar organic solvent at a microchannel junction, and then, collagen molecules were concentrated by the dehydration of the droplets. The collagen molecules in the shrunk droplets were chemically cross-l...

Silicon has a high-specific capacity as an anode material for Li-ion batteries, and much research has been focused on overcoming the poor cycling stability issue associated with its large volume changes during charging and discharging processes, mostly through nanostructured material design. Here we report incorporation of a conducting polymer hydrogel into Si-based anodes: the hydrogel is poly...

Core–shell microcapsules capable of regulating the release profile of encapsulated molecules are developed. These microcapsules uniquely embed miniature actuators in their liquid core. The internal actuators are made of stimuli-responsive smart hydrogel beads. The embedded hydrogel beads swell in response to external electric fields, regulating the internal pressure of the liquid core and thus ...