Ευφυή υδροπηκτώματα αλγινικου οξέος με ιδιότητες ρεολέπτυνσης για βιοεφαρμογές

With the advent of additive manufacturing techniques, there is an ever-growing need for the development of new materials and fillers that can be integrated with these modern material deposition methods. Polymers constitute a major class of 3D-printable materials and have already found uses in multifarious fields spanning from structural materials, (bio-)electronics, soft robotic components, biomaterials and drug delivery microdevices, to daily use articles. Polymeric hydrogels belong to a class of soft materials comprising polymer networks crosslinked by hydrophilic or amphiphilic polymeric chains that can retain large volumes of water. Hydrogels, and especially those that can undergo shear-thinning, have already been adopted in 3D printing processes owing to their relative ease of preparation and chemical versatility. In the case of natural hydrogels, crosslinking takes place with the use of non-covalent dynamic bonds, such as hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds, and hydrophobic interactions which result in the reversible formation of a crosslinked polymer network. An interesting class of hydrogels are the so called “smart hydrogels” where the crosslinking mechanism comprises the use of responsive polymers, endowing the formation of the crosslink mechanism responsive to physiochemical cues such as changes in temperature, pH, or other stimuli such as application of light, ultrasound irradiation etc. In our laboratory we study the development of injectable polymer networks that can undergo reversible gelation under mild conditions. These soft materials can host living cell populations without affecting their viability and other key functions, and can also act as injectable cell delivery devices.  

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