Recent trends in pH/thermo-responsive self-assembling hydrogels: from polyions to peptide-based polymeric gelators

In this article, we highlight some recent developments in "smart" physical hydrogels achieved by self-assembling of block type macromolecules. More precisely we focus on two interesting types of gelators namely conventional ionic (or ionogenic) block copolymers and peptide-based polymers h...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Soft matter 2016-01, Vol.12 (5), p.1344-1359
Main Authors: Chassenieux, Christophe, Tsitsilianis, Constantinos
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomedical materials
Biomimetics
Block copolymers
Design engineering
Electrolytes - chemistry
Hydrogels
Hydrogels - chemistry
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
Peptides - chemistry
Polymers
Polymers - chemistry
Protein Structure, Secondary
Temperature
Trends
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In this article, we highlight some recent developments in "smart" physical hydrogels achieved by self-assembling of block type macromolecules. More precisely we focus on two interesting types of gelators namely conventional ionic (or ionogenic) block copolymers and peptide-based polymers having as a common feature their responsiveness to pH and/or temperature which are the main triggers used for potential biomedical applications. Taking advantage of the immense skills of conventional block copolymer hydrogelators, namely macromolecular design, self-assembling mechanism, gel rheological properties, responsiveness to various triggers and innovative applications, the development of novel self-assembling gelators, integrating the new knowledge emerging from the peptide-based systems, opens new horizons towards bio-inspired technologies. This review article highlights the recent advances in the pH and/or temperature responsive self-assembling hydrogels focusing on two types of gelators namely conventional block copolymers, bearing ionogenic repeating units, and polypeptide-based associative segmented (block) macromolecules.
ISSN:1744-683X
1744-6848
DOI:10.1039/c5sm02710a