Saunders Brian R, Laajam Nadiah, Daly Emma, Teow Stephanie, Hu Xinhua, Stepto Robert
Polymer Science and Engineering Group, School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Grosvenor Street, Manchester, M1 7HS, UK.
Adv Colloid Interface Sci. 2009 Mar-Jun;147-148:251-62. doi: 10.1016/j.cis.2008.08.008. Epub 2008 Aug 24.
Microgels are network polymer colloid particles that can swell in a good solvent or as a result of electrostatic repulsion between charged groups produced by pH-triggered neutralisation. They have attracted considerable interest as both model colloids and for their potential applications. This discussion reviews the properties of microgel particles and the current understanding of their structure. The review concentrates on the period after an earlier microgel review by Saunders and Vincent [Adv. Coll. Interf. Sci., 1999, 80, 1]. A key challenge for microgel research has involved elucidation of the internal particle structure. Most microgels prepared by emulsion or precipitation polymerisation have a core-shell structure. The segment density is usually highest in the core. Here, we discuss relationships between microgel structure and dispersion stability. The reasons for the exceptional stability of microgel dispersions are considered. There are a number of favourable structural features that make microgels candidates for biomaterial applications and these are discussed. The main potential biomaterial applications that have been investigated for microgels to date are drug delivery and regenerative medicine. Poly(NIPAM) (N-isopropylacrylamide) microgels have been extensively studied in the context of drug delivery. Regenerative medicine research for microgels is an emerging area. Recent work involving the use of gelled microgel dispersions to support biomechanically meaningful loads is considered. We conclude with a discussion of promising directions for microgel research as biomaterials.
微凝胶是一种网络聚合物胶体颗粒，在良溶剂中或由于pH值引发的中和作用产生的带电基团之间的静电排斥作用而发生溶胀。它们作为模型胶体及其潜在应用引起了人们的广泛关注。本讨论回顾了微凝胶颗粒的性质以及目前对其结构的理解。该综述集中在桑德斯和文森特早期对微凝胶的综述[《高等胶体与界面科学》，1999年，80卷，第1期]之后的时期。微凝胶研究的一个关键挑战涉及阐明颗粒内部结构。大多数通过乳液聚合或沉淀聚合制备的微凝胶具有核壳结构。链段密度通常在核中最高。在这里，我们讨论微凝胶结构与分散稳定性之间的关系。考虑了微凝胶分散体具有异常稳定性的原因。有许多有利的结构特征使微凝胶成为生物材料应用的候选者，并对此进行了讨论。迄今为止，已针对微凝胶研究的主要潜在生物材料应用是药物递送和再生医学。聚（NIPAM）（N-异丙基丙烯酰胺）微凝胶在药物递送方面已得到广泛研究。微凝胶的再生医学研究是一个新兴领域。考虑了最近涉及使用凝胶化微凝胶分散体来支持具有生物力学意义的负载的工作。我们最后讨论了微凝胶作为生物材料研究的有前景的方向。
