A review on nanocomposite hydrogels and their biomedical applications

Abstract In order to improve the drawbacks related to hydrogels, nanocomposite hydrogels were developed by incorporating different types of nanoparticles or nanostructures in the hydrogel network. This review categorizes nanocomposite hydrogels based on the type of their nanoparticle into four groups of carbon-, polymeric-, inorganic- and metallic-based nanocomposite hydrogels. Each type has specific properties that make them appropriate for a special purpose. This is mainly attributed to the improvement of interactions between nanoparticles and polymeric chains and to the enhancement of desirable properties for target applications. The focus of this paper is on biomedical applications of nanocomposite hydrogels and the most recent approaches made to fulfill their current limitations.