Hydrogels for biomedical purposes

Medical advances that have prolonged the average life span have generated more needs for new materials that can be used as tissue and organ replacements, drug delivery systems or components of devices related to therapy and diagnosis. One of the most promising class of such materials seems to be hydrogels. Taking poly(ethylene oxide) — PEO as an example of hydrogel-forming polymers the mechanism of formation and decay of its macroradical in aqueous solution was discussed. The influence of scavengers as well as concentration of PEO solution on the formation of gel has been shown. Short description of technologies of some hydrogel biomaterials obtained by means of radiation technique was given.