Polyelectrolyte gels-fundamentals and applications

Abstract

Polyelectrolyte gels are charged polymer networks with macro-ions fixed on polymer chains. This present paper introduces fundamental aspects, properties and application of negatively charged polyelectrolyte gels, focusing on the electrical properties of polyelectrolyte gels, diffusion of proteins in polyelectrolyte gels, interactions between polyelectrolyte gels and oppositely charged molecules, and mechanical strength of polyelectrolyte based gels. These characteristic properties of polyelectrolyte gels have considerable potential for applications, such as soft and wet scaffolds of cells, soft actuators and replacement of biological tissues. © 2006 The Society of Polymer Science, Japan.