Composite polymer hydrogels

Methods of preparing and properties of composite hydrogels based on various hydrophilic polymers and their mixtures with inorganic nanosized additives are considered. The effect of the type of physical or covalent bonding between components on the formation of composite hydrogels and their characteristics is discussed. The biphasic character of composite hydrogels determines as a rule their advantages as supersorbents, membrane materials, living-tissue substitutes, drug carriers, and soft-contact-lens materials.