BACKGROUND Hydrogels that possess hydrophilic and soft characteristics have been widely used in various biomedical applications, such as tissue engineering scaffolds and drug delivery. Conventional hydrogels are not electrically conductive and thus their electrical communication with biological systems is limited. METHOD To create electrically conductive hydrogels, we fabricated composite hyd...

Synthesis and application of poly (3-Acrylamidopropyl)-trimethylammonium chloride (PAPTMACl) hydrogels as adsorbents for removal of toxic anions such as arsenate from water were investigated. PAPTMACl hydrogels were synthesized in the form of small cylinders, with using N, N’-methylene-bisacrylamide (MBA) as crosslinker. N,N,N’,N’-tetramethylethylenediamine (TEMED) was used as an accelerator, a...

Hydrogels are widely used in the biomedical field. Their main purposes are either to deliver biological active agents or to temporarily fill a defect until they degrade and are followed by new host tissue formation. However, for this latter application, biodegradable hydrogels are usually not capable to sustain any significant load. The development of biodegradable hydrogels presenting load-bea...

Here we report the development and characterization of novel photo-crosslinkable chitosan-lactide (Ch-LA) hydrogels for bone tissue engineering. We synthesized the hydrogels based on Ch, LA, and methacrylic anhydride (MA), and examined their chemical structures, degradation rates, compressive moduli, and protein release kinetics. We also evaluated the cytotoxicity of the hydrogels and delivery ...

Here, we demonstrate the flexibility of peptide-functionalized poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels for modeling tumor progression. The PEG hydrogels were formed using thiol-ene chemistry to incorporate a matrix metalloproteinase-degradable peptide crosslinker (KKCGGPQG↓IWGQGCKK) permissive to proteolytic remodeling and the adhesive CRGDS peptide ligand. Tumor cell function was investigated by...

Recently, biomaterials-based tissue engineering strategies such as hydrogels have offered great promise in repairing articular cartilage. Mechanical failure testing in outcome analyses is given the crucial clinical importance to the success of engineered constructs. Interpenetrating networks (IPNs) are gaining more attention due to their superior mechanical integrity. Extensive fracture toughne...

Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels are popular for cell culture and tissue-engineering applications because they are nontoxic and exhibit favorable hydration and nutrient transport properties. However, cells cannot adhere to, remodel, proliferate within, or degrade PEG hydrogels. Methacrylated gelatin (GelMA), derived from denatured collagen, yields an enzymatically degradable, photocrosslin...

Novel pH-responsive complexation hydrogels containing pendent glucose (P(MAA-co-MEG)) or grafted PEG chains (P(MAA-g-EG)) were synthesized by photopolymerization. The feasibility of these hydrogels as oral protein delivery carriers was evaluated. The pH-responsive release behavior of insulin was analyzed from both P(MAA-co-MEG) and P(MAA-g-EG) hydrogels. In acidic media (pH 2.2), insulin releas...

Hydrogels can promote desirable cellular phenotype by mimicking tissue-like stiffness or serving as a gene delivery depot. However, nonviral gene delivery inside three-dimensional (3D) hydrogels remains a great challenge, and increasing hydrogel stiffness generally results in further decrease in gene delivery efficiency. Here we report a method to enhance nonviral gene delivery efficiency insid...

Reconstituted collagen hydrogels are often used for in vitro studies of cell-matrix interaction and as scaffolds for tissue engineering. Understanding the mechanical and transport behaviours of collagen hydrogels is therefore extremely important, albeit difficult due to their very high water content (typically >99.5%). In the present study the mechanical behaviour of collagen hydrogels in confi...