Current Directions and Prospects of Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications

Dear Colleagues, 

Hydrogels are interesting biomaterials due to their high swelling capacity, which allows them to hold and release materials at tailorable rates, as well as their excellent biocompatibility with minimal inflammatory responses. Even though the term ‘hydrogel’ was first coined in 1864, it was not until 1960 that these self-supporting 3D water-swollen viscoelastic polymer networks found their first application in the biomedical field, as reported in the seminal paper co-authored by Wichterle and Lim.

Single-component hydrogel systems have shown limitations due to either poor mechanical properties or insufficient cell-recognition moieties to facilitate cell adhesion and proliferation. To improve the performance of hydrogels in the biomedical field, new synthetic and analytical methods have been used to design more advanced smart and responsive (temperature, pH, light, ultrasound, enzyme, ionic strength, electrical, magnetic, etc.) hydrogels to better suit the targeted biomedical application.

For instance, the inclusion of nanomaterials into hydrogels led to the creation of a new generation of hydrogels known as nanocomposite hydrogels. Self-healing hydrogels have been designed for their own repair, or to help in the healing of damaged tissues.

This Special Issue of Gels focuses on recent innovations related to hydrogels, and showcases state-of-the-art original articles as well as comprehensive reviews in this rapidly evolving field.

Dr. Zhiyuan Jia
Prof. Dr. Holger Schönherr
Dr. Nowsheen Goonoo
Guest Editors

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