Amphiphilic hydrogels for biomedical applications

Abstract

Polymeric biomaterials, especially biodegradable polymers, have been extensively applied in biomedical applications. Amphiphilic hydrogels containing both hydrophilic and hydrophobic units represent one major class of polymeric biomaterials. Here, we review the fabrication and properties of hydrogels derived from different amphiphiles, as well as their biomedical applications. Amphiphilic peptides have become increasingly attractive in the development of self-assembling hydrogels because of their biological origin. Numerous polysaccharides have also been made amphiphilic as hydrogels, for their good biocompatibility and plentiful functional groups to facilitate chemical modification. Amphiphilic hydrogels have been widely used for drug delivery, tissue engineering, antibacterial activity, and other biomedical applications due to their advantages such as biocompatibility, nontoxicity, controlled biodegradability, and responsiveness to environmental stimuli.