Stomatology ›› 2022, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (9): 831-837.doi: 10.13591/j.cnki.kqyx.2022.09.012

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Research progress of hydrogels in biomedicine

WU Wei, WU Di, MA Shanshan, TANG Chunbo   

  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, Nanjing Medical University; Department of Dental Implant and Prosthodontics, Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Stomatological Translational Medicine, Nanjing 210029, China
  • Revised:2021-12-15 Online:2022-09-28 Published:2022-09-20

Abstract: Hydrogel is a three-dimensional network polymer formed by chemical and/or physical crosslinking in aqueous solution. Hydrogels often have high water absorption and water retention, and their highly hydrated properties are similar to those of extracellular matrix, which endows hydrogels with excellent biocompatibility. In addition, many hydrogels have biological functions such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation and anti-cancer, so hydrogels have great potential for application in biomedicine. At present, hydrogels play an important role in tissue engineering scaffolds, drug carriers and biomedical devices. In this paper, basic properties of hydrogels and hydrogels commonly used in biomedicine are introduced, and the application of hydrogels in biomedicine is emphasized. Present situation of its application is summarized, and problems to be overcome in further clinical transformation of hydrogels are discussed.

Key words: hydrogels, tissue engineering, drug carriers

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