Fast forming hydrogels prepared by crosslinking a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based copolymer containing multiple thiol (SH) groups were evaluated for the controlled ocular delivery of pilocarpine and subsequent pupillary constriction. Physical properties of the hydrogels were characterized using UV-Vis spectrophotometry, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), rheometry, and swelling kinetics....

Hydrogel nanocomposites containing silver nanoparticles of size 15–21 nm were prepared by diffusion and in-situ chemical reduction in chemically crosslinked polymers based on N-acryloyl-N′-ethyl piperazine (AcrNEP) and N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM). The polymer chains of the hydrogel network offered control and stabilization of silver nanoparticles without the need for additional stabilizers. T...

Hydrogel actuators were prepared by combining ionoprinting technique with reversible metal ion coordination chemistry found in mussel adhesive proteins. Hydrogels were formulated with biomimetic dopamine moiety, which contains a catechol side chain that is capable of forming mono-, bis-, and tris-complexes with ferric (Fe 3+ ) ions with increasing pH. CatecholFe 3+ complexation increased local ...

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) is a widely-studied polymers due to its excellent temperature sensitivity. PNIPAM-MAPOSS hybrid hydrogel, based on the introduction of acrylolsobutyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (MAPOSS) into the PNIPAM matrix in the presence of polyethylene glycol, was prepared via radical polymerization. The modified hydrogels exhibited a thick, heterogeneous poro...

Soft-polymer based microparticles are currently being applied in many biomedical applications, ranging from bioimaging and bioassays to drug delivery carriers. As one class of soft-polymers, hydrogels are materials, which can be used for delivering drug cargoes and can be fabricated in controlled sizes. Among the various hydrogel-forming polymers, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) based hydrogel syst...