Recent Advances in Antimicrobial Hydrogels Containing Metal Ions and Metals/Metal Oxide Nanoparticles
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Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology (Ministry of Education), Tianjin University of Science and Technology, No. 29, 13th Avenue, TEDA, Tianjin 300457, China
2
College of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, No. 29, 13th Avenue, TEDA, Tianjin 300457, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Polymers 2017, 9(12), 636; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym9120636
Received: 8 November 2017 / Revised: 17 November 2017 / Accepted: 19 November 2017 / Published: 23 November 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrogels in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine)
Recently, the rapid emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens has caused a serious health problem. Scientists respond to the threat by developing new antimicrobial materials to prevent or control infections caused by these pathogens. Polymer-based nanocomposite hydrogels are versatile materials as an alternative to conventional antimicrobial agents. Cross-linking of polymeric materials by metal ions or the combination of polymeric hydrogels with nanoparticles (metals and metal oxide) is a simple and effective approach for obtaining a multicomponent system with diverse functionalities. Several metals and metal oxides such as silver (Ag), gold (Au), zinc oxide (ZnO), copper oxide (CuO), titanium dioxide (TiO2) and magnesium oxide (MgO) have been loaded into hydrogels for antimicrobial applications. The incorporation of metals and metal oxide nanoparticles into hydrogels not only enhances the antimicrobial activity of hydrogels, but also improve their mechanical characteristics. Herein, we summarize recent advances in hydrogels containing metal ions, metals and metal oxide nanoparticles with potential antimicrobial properties.
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Keywords:
nanocomposite hydrogels; antimicrobial activity; metal ions/nanoparticles; metal oxide nanoparticles
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MDPI and ACS Style
Wahid, F.; Zhong, C.; Wang, H.-S.; Hu, X.-H.; Chu, L.-Q. Recent Advances in Antimicrobial Hydrogels Containing Metal Ions and Metals/Metal Oxide Nanoparticles. Polymers 2017, 9, 636.
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