Over the past century, hydrogels have emerged as effective materials for an immense variety of applications. The unique network structure of hydrogels enables very high levels of hydrophilicity and biocompatibility, while at the same time exhibiting the soft physical properties associated with living tissue, making them ideal biomaterials. Stimulus-responsive hydrogels have been especially impactful, allowing for unprecedented levels of control over material properties in response to external cues. This enhanced control has enabled groundbreaking advances in healthcare, allowing for more effective treatment of a vast array of diseases and improved approaches for tissue engineering and wound healing. In this extensive review, we identify and discuss the multitude of response modalities that have been developed, including temperature, pH, chemical, light, electro, and shear-sensitive hydrogels. We discuss the theoretical analysis of hydrogel properties and the mechanisms used to create these responses, highlighting both the pioneering and most recent work in all of these fields. Finally, we review the many current and proposed applications of these hydrogels in medicine and industry.

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Stimulus-responsive hydrogels: Theory, modern advances, and applications

The influence of fiber diameter of electrospun substrates on neural stem cell differentiation and proliferation

Injectable hydrogels are becoming increasingly important in the fields of tissue engineering and drug delivery due to their tunable properties, controllable degradation, high water content, and the ability to deliver them in a minimally invasive manner. Shear-thinning is one promising technique for the application of injectable hydrogels, where preformed hydrogels can be injected by application of shear stress (during injection) and quickly self-heal after removal of shear. Importantly, these gels can be used to deliver biological molecules and cells during the injection process. This review aims to highlight the range of injectable shear-thinning hydrogel systems being developed, with a focus on the various mechanisms of formation and shear-thinning and their use in biomedical applications.

/pdf/shear-thinning-hydrogels-for-biomedical-applications-1pznwrpxl3.pdf

Shear-thinning hydrogels for biomedical applications

https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/792032/file/8599453.pdf

Nonthermal Plasma Technology as a Versatile Strategy for Polymeric Biomaterials Surface Modification: A Review

Generally, medical implants, regardless of their construction materials, will become coated in a layer of non-specific proteins mere seconds after implantation. This adsorbed layer activates an irrevocable host defense mechanism, known as the foreign body reaction, which ultimately results in the production of a fibrous avascular capsule that isolates the device from its target tissues, clogs the pores of membranes and sensors, and prevents drug release from a delivery vehicle. Many devices eventually fail because of their inability to effectively communicate with the surrounding tissues.

It is becoming apparent that sub-cellular interactions at the biological-material interface have macroscopic outcomes. The success of the next generation of implants depends on overcoming limitations in biological communication by selective modification of device surfaces. This review focuses on recent advances in increased implant efficacy through selective surface modifications. Several approaches co-opt solutions found in the natural world to create a surface that mimics the properties of the cell membrane, thereby imparting a pseudo-biological character to synthetic materials. We begin with a short description of the foreign body reaction and then examine the biocompatible and bioactive device surface modification advances from the past five years that hold the potential of increased in vivo effectiveness.

Biocompatible and bioactive surface modifications for prolonged in vivo efficacy.

Controlling cell adhesion to surfaces via associating bioactive triblock proteins.

The present invention is directed to the compositions and methods of preparing hydrogel-grafted nerve guides for peripheral nerve regeneration. Particularly, the present invention describes the nerve guides and methods for preparation of hydrogel-grafted nerve guides with encapsulated neurotrophic factors and a nanofiber mesh lining the inner surface of the guide. The present invention also provides methods for peripheral nerve repair using these hydrogel-grafted nerve guides.

Xingyu Liu

Papers

Controlling cell adhesion to surfaces via associating bioactive triblock proteins.

Hydrogel-grafted degradable nerve guides

Biodegradable nerve guides