Hydrogels, as crosslinked polymeric three dimensional networks, possess unique structure and behavior in response to the internal and/or external stimuli. As a result, they offer great prospective applications in drug delivery, cell therapy and human tissue engineering. Here, we highlight the potential of hydrogels in prolonged intraocular drug delivery and ocular surface therapy using stem cel...

Hydrogels are biocompatible polymeric materials that are becoming increasingly important in biomedical applications, such as drug delivery and tissue engineering. Understanding of small-molecule diffusion in these systems is important in the contexts of controlled drug release; transport of nutrients (e.g., O2 and growth factors) into the gel; and transport of cellular waste out of the gel. In ...

Additive manufacturing of scaffolds made of a polyhydroxyalkanoate blended with another biocompatible polymer represents a cost-effective strategy for combining the advantages of the two blend components in order to develop tailored tissue engineering approaches. The aim of this study was the development of novel poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate)/ poly(ε-caprolactone) (PHBHHx/PCL) b...

Micro capillary networks widely exist in nature in forms of mass transport pathways, such as blood vessels. However their complicated geometry and the extra fine small features bring a great challenge to their potential applications in term of fabrication. To overcome the fabrication challenge, we presented in this thesis a novel method to fabricate fully three dimensional (3D) microstructures ...

This review presents the past and current efforts with a brief description on the featured properties of hydrogel membranes fabricated from biopolymers and synthetic ones for wound dressing applications. Many endeavors have been exerted during past ten years for developing new artificial polymeric membranes, which fulfill the demanded conditions for the treatment of skin wounds. This review mai...

Methods that will remove conventional nutrient pollutants such as reactive phosphorus, even at extremely low concentrations, from wastewater effluents are a major need in the aquaculture industry. In this study, novel phosphate binding crosslinked poly(allylamine), PAA · HCl, polymeric hydrogel materials were developed, which efficiently bind phosphate anions in aquaculture wastewater effluents...

Azobenzene-functionalized ABA triblock copolymers with controlled molecular weights are prepared first via a sequential ring-opening metathesis polymerization and acyclic diene metathesis polymerization in one-pot, which are readily converted, by a facile esterification, to the modified ABA triblock copolymers. Then, these reactive triblock copolymers can spontaneously self-assemble in a select...

In order to rise the yield of prednisolone from hydrocortisone, the Pseudomonas oleovorans cells were entrapped into radiation crosslinked poly (vinyl pyrrolidone)/poly(ethylene oxide) (PVP/PEO) hydrogel of different gel contents. The factors affecting the gel content and swelling behavior of the polymeric gel, such as polymer composition, polymer blend concentration, and irradiation doses, wer...