Different fillers in PVA composite hydrogels: Their influence on the final properties

Abstract

Hydrogels are currently used in a large number of biological, medical, and technological applications. They are some of the most important the controlled release of drugs and tissue engineering. These materials are three-dimensional structures swollen in the presence of water or biological fluids while remaining insoluble in aqueous solutions due to chemical or physical cross-linking of individual polymer chains. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a hydrophilic and low-cost polymer, from which hydrogels can be obtained with the additional advantage of having a high chemical resistance while being biocompatible.An option to improve many properties of PVA hydrogels is the addition of specific fillers that give the possibility of developing composite hydrogels with desired properties for selected application. The right selection of gel components, the filler and the matrix, with the composition and processing technique is essential to obtain these composites with the desired properties. Some examples are inorganic minerals, such as hydroxyapatite, metal oxides, and carbon nanotubes, which are incorporated into polymer matrices to impart bioactivity or special properties for biomedical applications.The objective of this chapter is to review the literature concerning classification of hydrogels with different fillers and the influence of these fillers over the final properties.