Advances in Research and Applications of Smart Hydrogels Part I: Preparation Methods and Classification

Smart hydrogels have the ability to respond to various kinds of stimulus such as physical stimuli including temperature, electric fields, solvent composition, light, pressure, sound and magnetic fields, and chemical or biochemical stimuli including pH, ions, glucose, enzyme, antigen and DNA. Smart hydrogels are an interesting class of materials that can be prepared by variety methods. The molecular design of polymer architectures of smart hydrogels is particularly important to show the potentially powerful combination of thermodynamic and kinetic regulation of smart hydrogels. The objective of this series is to present the latest research results together with basic concepts from the viewpoints of their preparation methods and classification (Part I) and characterizations and applications (Part II). Future trends in this area of research are presented and issues regarding technology development and new applications are highlighted.