Smart Polymer Hydrogels

Smart Polymers and Their Applications, Second Edition presents an up-to-date resource of information on the synthesis and properties of different types of smart polymers, including temperature, pH, electro, magnetic and photo-responsive polymers, amongst others. It is an ideal introduction to this field, as well as a review of the latest research in this area. Shape memory polymers, smart polymer hydrogels, and self-healing polymer systems are also explored. In addition, a very strong focus on applications of smart polymers is included for tissue engineering, smart polymer nanocarriers for drug delivery, and the use of smart polymers in medical devices. Additionally, the book covers the use of smart polymers for textile applications, packaging, energy storage, optical data storage, environmental protection, and more. This book is an ideal, technical resource for chemists, chemical engineers, materials scientists, mechanical engineers and other professionals in a range of industries. Includes a significant number of new chapters on smart polymer materials development, as well as new applications development in energy storage, sensors and devices, and environmental protection Provides a multidisciplinary approach to the development of responsive polymers, approaching the subject by the different types of polymer (e.g. temperature-responsive) and its range of applications

This volume of Progress in Colloid and Polymer Science assembles original contributions and invited reviews from the priority research program "Intelligent Hydrogels", funded by the German Science Foundation DFG since 2006, with about 25 contributing research groups. In the center of interest of this program and the present book are responsive hydrogels, i.e. hydrophilic polymer or polyelectrolyte networks that are able to respond to environmental stimuli such as changes in temperature, pH, additive concentration or electrical field. The activities focus on different aspects: on hydrogel synthesis, on the modeling and simulation of thermophysical hydrogel properties, as well as on innovative new hydrogel applications as smart materials. The present book summarizes the highlights in the results of the priority program in original contributions and invited reviews.

Smart Polymer Nanocomposites: Biomedical and Environmental Applications presents the latest information on smart polymers and their promising application in various fields, including their role in delivery systems for drugs, tissue engineering scaffolds, cell culture sports, bioseparation, and sensors or actuator systems. Features detailed information on the preparation, characterization and applications of smart functional polymer composites Covers a broad range of applications in both the biomedical and environmental engineering fields Chapters are written by authors with diverse background expertise from the faculties of chemistry, engineering and the manufacturing industry

This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive collection of works on recent advances and developments in smart polymer hydrogels applied to the biomedical and nanotechnological fields. The research topic covers all hydrogels, including polymer hydrogels, supramolecular gels, hybrid hydrogels, metallohydrogels, etc. Stimulus-responsive polymer hydrogels have attracted considerable interest as promising smart materials due to their tremendous potential in biomedical and nanotechnological applications. They can respond to different chemical and physical external stimuli, including pH, temperature, light, enzyme activity, redox agents, the electric or magnetic field, and chemicals. Compared to single stimulus-responsive polymer hydrogels, multiple-responsive hydrogels exhibit higher flexibility and tunability to realize multiplefunctionality in a synergistic manner. The structural and phase transition of polymer hydrogels triggered by external stimuli offers enormous potential for drug delivery, tumor therapy, tissue engineering, and biodevices.

This book is concerned with polymeric hydrogels, which are considered as one of the most promising types of new polymer-based materials. Each chapter in this book describes a selected class of polymeric hydrogels, such as superabsorbent hybrid nanohydrogels, conducting polymer hydrogels, polysaccharide-based or protein-based hydrogels, or gels based on synthetic polymers. In this way, the book also addresses some of the fascinating properties and applications of polymeric hydrogels: they are three-dimensional, hydrophilic, polymeric networks that can absorb, swell and retain large quantities of water or aqueous fluids. In combination with metal nanoparticles, nanofibrils or nanowhiskers, which may be embedded in the gels, they find widespread applications, ranging from agriculture, and waste water treatment, over electronics, to pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. Applications mentioned in this book include electro sensors, capacitors, electromechanical actuators, and even artificial muscles.

This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive collection of works on recent advances and developments in smart polymer hydrogels applied to the biomedical and nanotechnological fields. The research topic covers all hydrogels, including polymer hydrogels, supramolecular gels, hybrid hydrogels, metallohydrogels, etc. Stimulus-responsive polymer hydrogels have attracted considerable interest as promising smart materials due to their tremendous potential in biomedical and nanotechnological applications. They can respond to different chemical and physical external stimuli, including pH, temperature, light, enzyme activity, redox agents, the electric or magnetic field, and chemicals. Compared to single stimulus-responsive polymer hydrogels, multiple-responsive hydrogels exhibit higher flexibility and tunability to realize multiplefunctionality in a synergistic manner. The structural and phase transition of polymer hydrogels triggered by external stimuli offers enormous potential for drug delivery, tumor therapy, tissue engineering, and biodevices.

The science of mathematical modelling and numerical simulation is generally accepted as the third mode of scienti?c discovery (with the other two modes being experiment and analysis), making this ?eld an integral component of c- ting edge scienti?c and industrial research in most domains. This is especially so in advanced biomaterials such as polymeric hydrogels responsive to biostimuli for a wide range of potential BioMEMS applications, where multiphysics and mul- phase are common requirements. These environmental stimuli-responsive hydrogels are often known as smart hydrogels. In the published studies on the smart or stimu- responsive hydrogels, the literature search clearly indicates that the vast majority are experimental based. In particular, although there are a few published books on the smart hydrogels, none is involved in the modelling of smart hydrogels. For the few published journal papers that conducted mathematical modelling and numerical simulation, results were far from satisfactory, and showed signi?cant d- crepancies when compared with existing experimental data. This has resulted in ad hoc studies of these hydrogel materials mainly conducted by trial and error. This is a very time-consuming and inef?cient process, and certain aspects of fun- mental knowledge are often missed or overlooked, resulting in off-tangent research directions.

This book discusses recent advances in hydrogels, including their generation and applications and presents a compendium of fundamental concepts. It highlights the most important hydrogel materials, including physical hydrogels, chemical hydrogels, and nanohydrogels and explores the development of hydrogel-based novel materials that respond to external stimuli, such as temperature, pressure, pH, light, biochemicals or magnetism, which represent a new class of intelligent materials. With their multiple cooperative functions, hydrogel-based materials exhibit different potential applications ranging from biomedical engineering to water purification systems. This book covers key topics including superabsorbent polymer hydrogel; intelligent hydrogels for drug delivery; hydrogels from catechol-conjugated materials; nanomaterials loaded hydrogel; electrospinning of hydrogels; biopolymers-based hydrogels; injectable hydrogels; interpenetrating-polymer-network hydrogels: radiation- and sonochemical synthesis of micro/nano/macroscopic hydrogels; DNA-based hydrogels; and multifunctional applications of hydrogels. It will prove a valuable resource for researchers working in industry and academia alike.