[1] The combination of organic (polymer) and inorganic (clay) structure gives these hydrogels improved physical, chemical, electrical, biological, and swelling/de-swelling properties that cannot be achieved by either material alone.
[2] Inspired by flexible biological tissues, researchers incorporate carbon-based, polymeric, ceramic and/or metallic nanomaterials to give these hydrogels superior characteristics like optical properties and stimulus-sensitivity which can potentially be very helpful to medical (especially drug delivery and stem cell engineering) and mechanical fields.
These polymers need to be made up of equally spaced out, 30 nm in diameter, clay platelets that can swell and exfoliate in the presence of water.
The platelets act as cross-links to modify molecular functions to enable the hydrogels to have superior elasticity and toughness that resembles closely that of biological tissue.
The swelling property of NC gels allows them to collect the surrounding aqueous solution instead of being dissolved by it, which helps make them good candidates for drug delivery carriers.
Nanocomposite hydrogels that are reinforced with carbon-based nanomaterials are mechanically tough and electrically conductive, which make them suitable for use in biomedicine, tissue engineering, drug delivery, biosensing, etc.
The unique properties obtained by incorporating nanocomposite hydrogels with inorganic nanoparticles will let researchers work on improving bone-related tissue engineering.
The porous, interconnecting network of nanocomposite hydrogels, created through cross-link, enable wastes and nutrients to easily enter and exit the structure, and their elastomeric properties let them acquire the desired anatomical shape without needing prior molding.
The porous structure of this material would also make the process of drug delivery easier where the pharmaceutical compounds present in the hydrogel can easily escape and be absorbed by the body.
Aside from that, researchers are also looking into incorporating nanocomposite hydrogels with silver nanoparticles for antibacterial applications and microorganism elimination in medical and food packing and water treatment.
Ideally, drug delivery systems should, “…maximize the efficacy and the safety of the therapeutic agent, delivering an appropriate amount at a suitable rate and to the most appropriate site in the body”.
Hydrogels have been studied with a variety of nanocomposites including: clay, gold, silver, iron oxide, carbon nanotubes, hydroxyapatite, and tricalcium phosphate.
[14] Silver nanoparticles are inserted into the 3D polymeric networks of nanocomposite hydrogels for applications in antibacterial activity and improvement in electrical conductance.
[13] Although hydrogels infused with nanoparticles are speculated to be quite promising methods of drug, protein, peptide, oligosaccharide, vaccine, and nucleic acid delivery, more studies regarding nanotoxicology and safety are required before clinical applications can be pursued.