The
Chemical
Engineering
Department
is
hosting
a
special
undergraduate
lecture
about
Engineering
Hydrogels
for
Biomedical
Applications.
Abstract:
Hydrogels are water-swollen polymer networks that mimic many of the characteristics of soft biological tissues. They are among the most widely used soft materials in the modern world: they find large-scale applications in cosmetics, food, medicine, water purification, and energy storage. Furthermore, due to their ability to recapitulate the structure and physical properties of native biological tissues, hydrogels can be engineered to serve as biomaterials for tissue engineering and drug delivery. This lecture will introduce how we can design hydrogels for biomedical applications. I will first describe the gel formation process and the different classes of hydrogels. I will then explain how engineers can alter the structure of hydrogels to customize their swelling, mass transport, and mechanical properties for advanced applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering.