Issue 25, 2022

Retracted Article: Gel scaffolds and emerging applications in biomedicine

Abstract

Nowadays, gels are formed by small molecules self-assembling under the influence of various non-covalent interactions. They can be easily perturbed, which allows for the careful tweaking of their properties. They are kinetically confined, and following production, they usually do not demonstrate time-variable changes in material properties. When exposed to external stimuli such as temperature, pH, light, enzymes, redox, and chemical analytes, such materials may become switchable, leading to the reconfiguration of the gel matrix into a different type of network. The transformations allow gel-to-gel transitions, while the changes in the molecular aggregation result in the alteration of the physical and chemical properties of the gel with time. Here, we discuss various methods used to achieve gel-to-gel transitions by modifying a pre-formed gel material through external perturbation. The dynamic modification of gels allows the construction of an array of gels with various properties from a single material, which eventually extends the limit of application of the gels.

Graphical abstract: Retracted Article: Gel scaffolds and emerging applications in biomedicine

Associated articles

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
12 Feb 2022
Accepted
11 May 2022
First published
26 May 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2022,12, 15925-15949

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