Thermoresponsive hydrogels in biomedical applications

Environmentally responsive hydrogels have the ability to turn from solution to gel when a specific stimulus is applied. Thermoresponsive hydrogels utilize temperature change as the trigger that determines their gelling behavior without any additional external factor. These hydrogels have been interesting for biomedical uses as they can swell in situ under physiological conditions and provide the advantage of convenient administration. The scope of this paper is to review the aqueous polymer solutions that exhibit transition to gel upon temperature change. Typically, aqueous solutions of hydrogels used in biomedical applications are liquid at ambient temperature and gel at physiological temperature. The review focuses mainly on hydrogels based on natural polymers, N-isopropylacrylamide polymers, poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(propylene oxide)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) polymers as well as poly(ethylene glycol)-biodegradable polyester copolymers. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.