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Non‐Osmotic Hydrogels: A Rational Strategy for Safely Degradable Hydrogels
Author(s) -
Kamata Hiroyuki,
Kushiro Keiichiro,
Takai Madoka,
Chung Ungil,
Sakai Takamasa
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201602610
Subject(s) - self healing hydrogels , swelling , polymer , degradation (telecommunications) , rational design , osmotic pressure , materials science , chemical engineering , solvent , polymer network , chemistry , computer science , polymer chemistry , nanotechnology , composite material , organic chemistry , biochemistry , telecommunications , engineering
Hydrogels are promising materials for biomedical applications, where timely degradation is often preferred. In the conventional design, however, the cleavage of polymer networks essentially causes considerable morphological changes (i.e., degradation‐induced swelling), triggering various medical complications. Herein, we report a rational strategy to suppress the degradation‐induced swelling based on the synthetic control of the polymer–solvent interaction parameter ( χ ) of constituent polymer networks. The resultant hydrogels with an optimal χ parameter ( χ 37 °C ≈0.53; non‐osmostic hydrogels) displayed the capability to retain their original shape and degrade without generating significant swelling pressure under physiological conditions (Π 37 °C <1 kPa). This concept of the safely degradable non‐osmotic hydrogel is theoretically universal, and can be exploited for other types of synthetic hydrogels in various settings.