Advances in the fabrication of antimicrobial hydrogels for biomedical applications

Carmen M. González-Henríquez, Mauricio A. Sarabia-Vallejos, Juan Rodriguez-Hernandez*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

62 Scopus citations

Abstract

This review describes, in an organized manner, the recent developments in the elaboration of hydrogels that possess antimicrobial activity. The fabrication of antibacterial hydrogels for biomedical applications that permits cell adhesion and proliferation still remains as an interesting challenge, in particular for tissue engineering applications. In this context, a large number of studies has been carried out in the design of hydrogels that serve as support for antimicrobial agents (nanoparticles, antibiotics, etc.). Another interesting approach is to use polymers with inherent antimicrobial activity provided by functional groups contained in their structures, such as quaternary ammonium salt or hydrogels fabricated from antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) or natural polymers, such as chitosan. A summary of the different alternatives employed for this purpose is described in this review, considering their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, more recent methodologies that lead to more sophisticated hydrogels that are able to react to external stimuli are equally depicted in this review.

Original languageEnglish
Article number232
JournalMaterials
Volume10
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2017
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 by the authors.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science
  • Condensed Matter Physics

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