Materials 2010, 3(3), 1746-1767; doi:10.3390/ma3031746
Injectable, Biodegradable Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering Applications
1
Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2
Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
3
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 19 November 2009 / Revised: 16 February 2010 / Accepted: 8 March 2010 / Published: 10 March 2010
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biomaterials)
Abstract
Hydrogels have many different applications in the field of regenerative medicine. Biodegradable, injectable hydrogels could be utilized as delivery systems, cell carriers, and scaffolds for tissue engineering. Injectable hydrogels are an appealing scaffold because they are structurally similar to the extracellular matrix of many tissues, can often be processed under relatively mild conditions, and may be delivered in a minimally invasive manner. This review will discuss recent advances in the field of injectable hydrogels, including both synthetic and native polymeric materials, which can be potentially used in cartilage and soft tissue engineering applications. View Full-TextKeywords:
injectable hydrogels; biodegradation; biomaterials; tissue engineering; regeneration medicine
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Tan, H.; Marra, K.G. Injectable, Biodegradable Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering Applications. Materials 2010, 3, 1746-1767.
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