Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University, Durham, 27710, NC.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, 27710, NC.
Macromol Biosci. 2019 Jan;19(1):e1800259. doi: 10.1002/mabi.201800259. Epub 2018 Oct 8.
Supramolecular hydrogels are a class of self-assembled network structures formed via non-covalent interactions of the hydrogelators. These hydrogels capable of responding to external stimuli are considered to be smart materials due to their ability to undergo sol-gel and/or gel-sol transition upon subtle changes in their surroundings. Such stimuli-responsive hydrogels are intriguing biomaterials with applications in tissue engineering, delivery of cells and drugs, modulating tissue environment to promote innate tissue repair, and imaging for medical diagnostics among others. This review summarizes the recent developments in stimuli-responsive supramolecular hydrogels and their potential applications in regenerative medicine. Specifically, various structural aspects of supramolecular hydrogelators involved in self-assembly, the role of external stimuli in tuning/controlling their phase transitions, and how these functions could be harnessed to advance applications in regenerative medicine are focused on. Finally, the key challenges and future prospects for these versatile materials are briefly described.
超分子水凝胶是一类通过水凝胶形成剂的非共价相互作用自组装形成的网络结构。这些能够对外界刺激做出响应的水凝胶被认为是智能材料，因为它们能够在周围环境发生微小变化时经历溶胶-凝胶和/或凝胶-溶胶转变。这种对刺激有响应的水凝胶是一种有趣的生物材料，在组织工程、细胞和药物输送、调节组织环境以促进天然组织修复以及医学诊断成像等方面都有应用。本文综述了近年来刺激响应超分子水凝胶的发展及其在再生医学中的潜在应用。具体来说，本文重点关注参与自组装的超分子水凝胶形成剂的各种结构方面、外部刺激在调节/控制其相转变中的作用，以及如何利用这些功能来推进再生医学中的应用。最后，简要描述了这些多功能材料的关键挑战和未来前景。
