Synthesis and Application of Polymer Hydrogels

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2025) | Viewed by 1081

Special Issue Editors

Center for Agile and Adaptive Additive Manufacturing (CAAAM), University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, USA
Interests: additive manufacturing; acoustics; hydrogels
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Guest Editor
Center for Agile and Adaptive Additive Manufacturing (CAAAM), University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, USA
Interests: bioprinting; tissue phantoms; non-destructive evaluations

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This special issue in MDPI Gels is targeted to the recent broad and novel developments on the synthesis and applications of hydrogels in science and engineering fields. Due to high freedom of the composition and internal bonding modifications, hydrogels can have very distinguishable physical, chemical, and biological properties. Based on that, the synthesis of hydrogels has been studied and characterized to meet the detailed demands for applications, which include but not limited to 3D/4D prints, soft-robotics, biomedicines, tissue phantoms, environmental sensing, optics, acoustics, and so on. A special issue collecting the general interested studying and application directions is appreciable to the entire community. The contributions on the reviews and original studies are both highly welcomes.

Dr. Yuqi Jin
Dr. Teng Yang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • 3D and 4D printings
  • tunable hydrogels
  • curing and degradation
  • physical properties characterization
  • soft robotics
  • shape memory hydrogels
  • sensing
  • micro-, nano-composite hydrogels
  • antifouling
  • biomedicines
  • static and dynamic responses
  • viscoelasticity and viscoplasticity
  • scratching and wearing

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

23 pages, 4248 KiB  
Article
Development of Dual-Crosslinking N-Isopropylacrylamide-Based Injectable Hydrogel for Transcatheter Embolization in Swine Model
by Amrita Pal, Gabriel Zdrale, Michelle Loui, Jeff Blanzy, William Bichard, Thomas J. On, Yuan Xu, Oscar Alcantar-Garibay, Mark C. Preul and Brent L. Vernon
Gels 2025, 11(3), 156; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels11030156 - 21 Feb 2025
Viewed by 552
Abstract
For decades, endovascular embolization (EE) has been a common technique for the treatment of several vascular abnormalities where the affected vessel is occluded using biocompatible embolic agents. In this work, we developed a NIPAAm-based temperature responsive, dual-crosslinking biocompatible and non-toxic injectable hydrogel system [...] Read more.
For decades, endovascular embolization (EE) has been a common technique for the treatment of several vascular abnormalities where the affected vessel is occluded using biocompatible embolic agents. In this work, we developed a NIPAAm-based temperature responsive, dual-crosslinking biocompatible and non-toxic injectable hydrogel system as a liquid embolic agent for EE. The swelling and mechanical properties of the hydrogel were tuned and optimized for its in vivo application. The in vivo study was carried out with nine swine models, including three animals for exploratory study and six animals for acute confirmatory study for the occlusion of surgically created aneurysm and rete mirabile. The polymer hydrogel was delivered into the vascular malformation sites using a catheter guided by angiography. After the injection, the liquid embolic agent was transformed into a solid implant in situ via cross-linking through chemical and thermal processes. During the exploratory study, it was observed that one of the three aneurysms and all the RMs were occluded. During the acute confirmatory study, all the aneurysms and the RMs of six animals were successfully occluded. Overall, our study presents the construction and characterization of a novel injectable hydrogel system capable of successfully occluding vascular malformation in large animals. In the future, after further modification and validation, this material may be used as a liquid embolic agent in clinical studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis and Application of Polymer Hydrogels)
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