“Nonswellable” Hydrogel Without Mechanical Hysteresis

Abstract

Optimizing Injectable Hydrogels Injectable hydrogels are showing promise as scaffolds in regenerative medicine because they can be injected in liquid form and transform in situ into the gel state. However, when exposed to ionic solutions, such as those found in the body, hydrogels can increase in volume by a factor of 2, which can weaken the material. Kamata et al. (p. 873 ) added a thermoresponsive component to a hydrogel so that the thermoresponsive component would tend to collapse in shape when heated and counteract the hydrogel's tendency to swell. Indeed, the resulting gel retained its unswollen volume following immersion in a physiological solution and retained its mechanical strength during repeated stretching or compression.