Hydrogels, also known as soft matter in the medical world, are leading materials for biomedical applications such as drug delivery and stem cell therapy. But traditional hydrogels, used in products ...

Stimulus sensitivity: They contain specific responsive groups that react to external triggers such as heat, light, mechanical stress, electric and magnetic fields, gases, pH, or particular chemicals.

This electroactive polymer hydrogel “learned” to play Pong. Credit: Cell Reports Physical Science/Strong et al. “Our research shows that even very simple materials can exhibit complex, adaptive ...

Reversible switching Schematic illustrating the hard/soft transition of the hydrogel/NAAC composite. (Courtesy: CC BY 4.0/Int. J. Extrem. Manuf. 10.1088/2631-7990/adbd97) Complex hydrogel structures ...

A light- and temperature-responsive hydrogel combines MXene and PNIPAM to achieve reversible, high-performance EMI shielding across a wide GHz range. (Nanowerk Spotlight) The rapid growth of wireless ...

Catheters, intravenous lines, and other types of surgical tubing are a medical necessity for managing a wide range of diseases. But a patient's experience with such devices is rarely a comfortable one ...

Scientists at Brown University have developed a new material that can release drugs only when pathogenic bacteria are around. When used as a bandage, the hydrogel could deliver medication on-demand ...

Within tissues, cells are embedded in complex, three-dimensional structures known as the extracellular matrix. Their biomechanical interactions play a crucial role in numerous biological processes.

Mechanical destruction of the internal structure of a hydrogel induces the formation of new structures in the gel using nutritional monomers, making the hydrogel grow. (Credit: Takahiro Matsuda) A new ...