Dendritic Hydrogels and Their Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Dendritic hydrogels belong to a unique category of viscoelastic materials which have potential applications in various biomedical fields. The gelators that form these hydrogels are composed of dendritic compounds in the form of either dendrons or dendrimers. This chapter is a focused review on the recent development of hydrogels formed by dendritic gelators and their biomedical applications. The chapter will be divided into three main sections after a brief introduction and overview. The first section covers applications in drug delivery, the second section covers applications as adhesives for wound healing, and the third section covers applications in cell culture and tissue engineering. In each section, the structures of the gelators and general method of hydrogel preparation will be discussed, followed by brief discussions of their biomedical applications. Lastly a conclusion and future perspective will be given. The chapter covers the literature within the last 10 years, from 2011 to 2021.