Department of Biomedical Engineering, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas, 77843.
Biotechnol Bioeng. 2014 Mar;111(3):441-53. doi: 10.1002/bit.25160. Epub 2013 Dec 6.
Hydrogels mimic native tissue microenvironment due to their porous and hydrated molecular structure. An emerging approach to reinforce polymeric hydrogels and to include multiple functionalities focuses on incorporating nanoparticles within the hydrogel network. A wide range of nanoparticles, such as carbon-based, polymeric, ceramic, and metallic nanomaterials can be integrated within the hydrogel networks to obtain nanocomposites with superior properties and tailored functionality. Nanocomposite hydrogels can be engineered to possess superior physical, chemical, electrical, and biological properties. This review focuses on the most recent developments in the field of nanocomposite hydrogels with emphasis on biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. In particular, we discuss synthesis and fabrication of nanocomposite hydrogels, examine their current limitations and conclude with future directions in designing more advanced nanocomposite hydrogels for biomedical and biotechnological applications.
水凝胶因其多孔和水合的分子结构而模拟天然组织微环境。一种新兴的增强聚合物水凝胶和包含多种功能的方法侧重于将纳米粒子纳入水凝胶网络中。各种纳米粒子，如碳基、聚合物、陶瓷和金属纳米材料，可以整合到水凝胶网络中，以获得具有优异性能和定制功能的纳米复合材料。纳米复合水凝胶可以设计成具有优异的物理、化学、电气和生物学特性。本综述重点介绍了纳米复合水凝胶领域的最新进展，重点是生物医学和制药应用。特别是，我们讨论了纳米复合水凝胶的合成和制备，考察了它们目前的局限性，并对用于生物医学和生物技术应用的更先进的纳米复合水凝胶的设计提出了未来的方向。
