Structural hydrogels

Research on hydrogel systems with structural features has aroused great interests due to its wide range of applications, including actuators, microfluidic units, synthetic adhesives, transplantable tissue organs, and cell scaffolds. This review article describes, with special emphasis, the design and fabrication of structural hydrogels with diversified geometric shapes and dimensions. These hydrogel structures include gradient gel, anisotropic gel, gel patterns, gel wrinkle, gel arrays and gel tubes. Several typical applications of such structural hydrogels are introduced, such as for controlling cell behavior, developing responsive actuators, and designing nature inspired bio-lubrication surface. Some perspectives on future development of structural hydrogel systems are provided. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.