Hydrogels

Table of Contents

Context

Scientists have discovered a new way to create hydrogels using tiny protein fragments of just five amino acids from the SARS-CoV-1 virus.

Hydrogels are three-dimensional, hydrophilic polymer networks that can retain a large amount of water while maintaining structure due to their cross-linked nature.
They are soft and flexible, similar to natural tissue, due to their significant water content.
Composition: Hydrogels can be made from natural or synthetic polymers, such as collagen, gelatin, polyethylene glycol (PEG), cellulose, starch, chitin and chitosan.
Applications:
- Tissue engineering: Hydrogels can be used as scaffolds for tissue engineering because their structure is similar to the extracellular matrix of many tissues.
- Wound healing: Hydrogels are a common wound care solution because they are soft, moisturising and can quickly absorb and retain water.
- Drug delivery: Hydrogels can be loaded with drugs and controlled subcutaneously, orally or intramuscularly.
- Environmental Cleanup: They are also used to capture and remove pollutants, especially in water.
- Agriculture: Used to retain soil moisture, especially in arid regions.
- They are also used in Contact lenses & Diagnostic devices.