A review of polymerization techniques for preparing hydrogels

The present study reviews articles on polymerization techniques for preparing hydrogels. Hydrogels are three-dimensional networks of polymer chains that are cross-linked through a simple reaction of one or more types of monomers and have a high ability to absorb and retain water. The ability of hydrogels to absorb water comes from hydrophilic functional groups such as COONa, OH, NH۲, COOH, SO۳H that are attached to the base chain. While their insolubility in water is due to cross-links between the main chains. Hydrogels are three-dimensional, hydrophilic polymer networks capable of absorbing large amounts of water or biological fluids. Due to their unique physicochemical properties, biocompatibility, and tunable characteristics, hydrogels have found widespread applications in biomedical engineering, drug delivery, wound healing, and environmental science. This review provides a comprehensive overview of various polymerization techniques used to synthesize hydrogels, including physical and chemical crosslinking methods. Key polymerization strategies such as free radical polymerization, photopolymerization, click chemistry, radiation polymerization, and enzyme-mediated polymerization are discussed in detail, along with their advantages, limitations, and typical applications.

کلیدواژه ها:

Copolymer Hydrogels ، Non-covalent interactions ، water penetration ، monomers ، Natural or synthetic polymer