Biomedical applications of hydrogels: A review of patents and commercial products
Open accessAbstract
Hydrogels have become very popular due to their unique properties such as high water content, softness, flexibility and biocompatibility. Natural and synthetic hydrophilic polymers can be physically or chemically cross-linked in order to produce hydrogels. Their resemblance to living tissue opens up many opportunities for applications in biomedical areas. Currently, hydrogels are used for manufacturing contact lenses, hygiene products, tissue engineering scaffolds, drug delivery systems and wound dressings. This review provides an analysis of their main characteristics and biomedical applications. From Wichterle’s pioneering work to the most recent hydrogel-based inventions and products on the market, it provides the reader with a detailed introduction to the topic and perspective on further potential developments.
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Hydrogels can be functionalized to achieve specific properties and structures.
“hydrogels can be functionalized to achieve specific properties and structures”
From Functionalized Hydrogel-Based Wearable Gas and Humidity Sensors. (2023) · cites this paper as [65]
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- Authors
- Caló, E., & Khutoryanskiy, V. V.
- Affiliations
- University of Reading (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Khutoryanskiy, Vitaliy V.
- Venue
- European Polymer Journal
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-04
- Volume
- 65
- Pages
- 252-267
- ISSN
- 0014-3057 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2044512869
- Cited by
- 2,634
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 197 · 2025: 209 · 2024: 231 · 2023: 287 · 2022: 271 · 2021: 306 · 2020: 294 · 2019: 324 · 2018: 252 · 2017: 155 · 2016: 85 · 2015: 22
- FWCI
- 39.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- European Polymer Journal (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- CentAUR (University of Reading) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- BBSRC (BB/FOF/PF/11/08, BB/FOF/289)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Medicine › Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Biomaterials › Collagen: Extraction and Characterization
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Biomaterials › Silk-based biomaterials and applications
- Keywords
- hydrogels, biomedical applications, patents, commercial products, tissue engineering scaffolds, drug delivery systems, wound dressings, contact lenses, hydrogel crosslinking, biocompatibility, hydrophilic polymers
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