Hydrogels

This page is for the research task of the course.

History of Hydrogels.
Since the 1950s hydrogels have been used in soft lens contact lens.

Basic chemistry of hydrogels
A Hydrogel is a network of polymer chains that are hydrophilic. Hydrogels are highly absorbent (they can contain over 99.9% water) natural or synthetic polymers. Hydrogels also possess a degree of flexibility very similar to natural tissue, due to their significant water content.

Uses of hydrogels
Medical

Hydrogels serve an important function in medical delivery and application, according to the Encyclopedia of Pharmaceutical Technology. Catheters use hydrogel materials for tubing, due to their flexibility. Scars and wounds often use hydrogels as a dressing due to the ability of water to bond with the skin. Optometrists use hydrogels to make contact lenses, because of their ability to conform to the eye. They are also used in nappies ann sanitary towels to absorb liquid. They are found under a layer and are seen as little gel balls. Once the gel balls interact with water, the balls expand creating a larger amount of gel.

Agriculture

One of the most important features of a hydrogel is the ability to hold amounts of water many times their own weight, according to Daniel Peterson of University of Minnesota. This characteristic is important for farming because hydrogels can store water and nutrients in capsules in areas with arid land and slowly release the contents; instead of dumping water all at once and having most of the it evaporate.