Composites of Polymer Hydrogels and Nanoparticulate Systems for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Applications
Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
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Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Academic Editor: Andrea Danani
Nanomaterials 2015, 5(4), 2054-2130; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano5042054
Received: 20 October 2015 / Revised: 18 November 2015 / Accepted: 20 November 2015 / Published: 3 December 2015
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanoparticles Assisted Drug Delivery)
Due to their unique structures and properties, three-dimensional hydrogels and nanostructured particles have been widely studied and shown a very high potential for medical, therapeutic and diagnostic applications. However, hydrogels and nanoparticulate systems have respective disadvantages that limit their widespread applications. Recently, the incorporation of nanostructured fillers into hydrogels has been developed as an innovative means for the creation of novel materials with diverse functionality in order to meet new challenges. In this review, the fundamentals of hydrogels and nanoparticles (NPs) were briefly discussed, and then we comprehensively summarized recent advances in the design, synthesis, functionalization and application of nanocomposite hydrogels with enhanced mechanical, biological and physicochemical properties. Moreover, the current challenges and future opportunities for the use of these promising materials in the biomedical sector, especially the nanocomposite hydrogels produced from hydrogels and polymeric NPs, are discussed.
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Keywords:
hydrogels; nanoparticles; nanocomposite hydrogels; hybrid hydrogels; nanocomposites; biomedical applications
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Zhao, F.; Yao, D.; Guo, R.; Deng, L.; Dong, A.; Zhang, J. Composites of Polymer Hydrogels and Nanoparticulate Systems for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Applications. Nanomaterials 2015, 5, 2054-2130.
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