Institute of Technical Chemistry, Leibniz University of Hannover, Hanover, Germany.
Adv Biochem Eng Biotechnol. 2021;178:1-35. doi: 10.1007/10_2021_168.
Hydrogels are hydrated polymers that are able to mimic many of the properties of living tissues. For this reason, they have become a popular choice of biomaterial in many biomedical applications including tissue engineering, drug delivery, and biosensing. The physical and biological requirements placed on hydrogels in these contexts are numerous and require a tunable material, which can be adapted to meet these demands. Tunability is defined as the use of knowledge-based tools to manipulate material properties in the desired direction. Engineering of suitable mechanical properties and integrating bioactivity are two major aspects of modern hydrogel design. Beyond these basic features, hydrogels can be tuned to respond to specific environmental cues and external stimuli, which are provided by surrounding cells or by the end user (patient, clinician, or researcher). This turns tunable hydrogels into stimulus-responsive smart materials, which are able to display adaptable and dynamic properties. In this book chapter, we will first shortly cover the foundation of hydrogel tunability, related to mechanical properties and biological functionality. Then, we will move on to stimulus-responsive hydrogel systems and describe their basic design, as well as give examples of their application in diverse biomedical fields. As both the understanding of underlying biological mechanisms and our engineering capacity mature, even more sophisticated tunable hydrogels addressing specific therapeutic goals will be developed.
水凝胶是能够模拟许多生物组织特性的亲水性聚合物。出于这个原因，它们已成为许多生物医学应用中生物材料的热门选择，包括组织工程、药物输送和生物传感。在这些情况下，水凝胶需要满足物理和生物方面的众多要求，这需要一种可调节的材料，可以根据需要进行调整。可调适性被定义为使用基于知识的工具来在所需方向上操纵材料性能。合适的机械性能的工程设计和生物活性的整合是现代水凝胶设计的两个主要方面。除了这些基本特征外，水凝胶还可以根据特定的环境线索和外部刺激进行调整，这些线索是由周围细胞或最终用户（患者、临床医生或研究人员）提供的。这将可调水凝胶转变为对刺激有响应的智能材料，使其能够显示出适应性和动态特性。在本章中，我们将首先简要介绍水凝胶可调适性的基础，包括机械性能和生物功能。然后，我们将继续介绍对刺激有响应的水凝胶系统，并描述它们的基本设计，并举例说明它们在不同的生物医学领域的应用。随着对基础生物学机制的理解和我们的工程能力的成熟，将开发出更多针对特定治疗目标的复杂可调水凝胶。
