Hydrogel-based Composites: A Review

Hydrogels are water-saturated polymeric networks with many different structures which areused in different applications such as: biomedical, pharmacy and biosensors and separation of biomolecules and cells. In recent years, hydrogels, because of their stable and flexible structure, have received attention in mass transfer technology. Temperature-, pressure-, pH- and electric field-responsive hydrogels are novel control systems in microfluidic applications. The transport phenomena have been greatly improved by this emerging new hydrogel-based composite technology. In this respect, this composite is used to enhance mass transport in hydrogels by forming a colloidal environment, which is useful in an application such as tissue engineering. As a new type of hydrogel-based composite, emulsion-filled gels are water-saturated polymers doped with oil droplets. These materials have major advantages in drug delivery systems and food science applications.The characteristics of these new gels are being studied in order to discover their new applications extended to other physic-chemical fields.