Hydrogels are crosslinked polymeric networks, which have the ability to hold water within the spaces available among the polymeric chains. Hydrogels have been gaining significant importance due to their potential uses in cell based therapies, tissue engineering, liquid micro-lenses, cancer therapy, cell carriers and/or entrapment, wound management and drug delivery. They are sensitive to environmental stimulus like aqueous media, pH, temperature, glucose concentration, electric field, light, etc. A number of synthetic hydrogels such as poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAm), polyethylene glycol (PEG), polyvinyl alcohol methylacrylate co-polymers (PVA-MA) and polylactic acid (PLA), as well as some of the natural hydrogels such as Fibrin, Hyaluronic acid (HA), Agarose, Alginate and chitosan are available. Because of the compatibility with living tissues, hydrogels can be used in different medical purposes (for making contact lenses, stents, balloon catheters, artificial muscles, substitutes for arteries and veins, trachea, oviduct, for neutraceutical delivery, regenerative medicine). Self-healing materials are of great importance as they offer longer lifetime, low replacement cost and greater product safety and can be used in any stress-bearing applications. The biocompatibility of hydrogel and its ability to response to environmental stimuli make it an attractive candidate for many biological and engineering applications.
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