Recent advances in photo-crosslinkable hydrogels for biomedical applications. (15th January 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Choi, Jane Ru; Yong, Kar Wey; Choi, Jean Yu; Cowie, Alistair C
• Is Part Of: Biotechniques. Volume 66:Number 1(2019)
• Page Start: 40
• Page End: 53
• Publication Date: 2019-01-15
• Subjects: biosensing -- cancer therapies -- drug delivery -- photo-crosslinkable hydrogels -- tissue engineering; Biology, Experimental -- Periodicals; Molecular biology -- Periodicals; Medical technology -- Periodicals; Biology, Experimental; Medical technology; Molecular biology; Clinical Laboratory Techniques -- Periodicals; Research -- Periodicals; Medical Laboratory Science -- Periodicals; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 570
• DOI: 10.2144/btn-2018-0083
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0736-6205

Abstract

Photo-crosslinkable hydrogels have recently attracted significant scientific interest. Their properties can be manipulated in a spatiotemporal manner through exposure to light to achieve the desirable functionality for various biomedical applications. This review article discusses the recent advances of the most common photo-crosslinkable hydrogels, including poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate, gelatin methacryloyl and methacrylated hyaluronic acid, for various biomedical applications. We first highlight the advantages of photopolymerization and discuss diverse photosensitive systems used for the synthesis of photo-crosslinkable hydrogels. We then introduce their synthesis methods and review their latest state of development in biomedical applications, including tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, drug delivery, cancer therapies and biosensing. Lastly, the existing challenges and future perspectives of engineering photo-crosslinkable hydrogels for biomedical applications are briefly discussed.