title: A novel design of injectable porous hydrogels with in situ pore formation.
abstract: The use of injectable porous hydrogels is of great interest in biomedical applications due to their excellent permeability and ease of integration into sites of surgical intervention. By implementing a method that enables the formation in situ of pores with controllable porosity and pore size, it is possible to synthesize bioactive hydrogels that are tailor-made for specific biomedical applications. An emulsion-templating technique was used to encapsulate oil droplets, which are subsequently leached out of the hydrogel to create the porous structure. Pore size and porosity were manipulated by changing oil-to-water ratios and the surfactant concentrations. Highly swellable porous hydrogels were obtained with control over mechanical strength and diffusive properties. The relationship between porosity, pore size, and the hydrogel's physical and mechanical characteristics was analyzed, and the potential of this material as a protein drug delivery system was demonstrated.
authors.affiliation: Inter-Departmental Program for Biotechnology, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.
authors.forename: Ortal
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yom-Tov
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Neufeld
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel; The Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.
authors.forename: Dror
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Seliktar
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel; The Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel. Electronic address: bianco@tx.technion.ac.il.
authors.forename: Havazelet
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bianco-Peled
mesh_terms: D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D015195:Drug Design; D004655:Emulsions; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D008422:Materials Testing; D016062:Porosity
chemical_list: D004655:Emulsions; D020100:Hydrogels
keywords: Biomaterials; Emulsion-templating; Hydrogels; Pore size; Porosity