About this Research Topic
In terms of engineered tissues, the major obstacle of bioactive hydrogels is the poor performance in mimicking tissue microenvironments, with which there is a huge gap compared with human tissues. To further the revelation of how to overcome this issue, the following topics should be addressed.
1) how to improve the mechanical strength of hydrogels
2) how to make the degradation process controllable
3) how to improve the biocompatibility of hydrogels
4) how to improve the biological response of hydrogels for complicated microenvironments in vivo
5) how to optimize the construction of hydrogels in aspects of composition, structure, and surface-interface interactions to mimic tissues better
Improving the unappreciated issues in construction of bioactive hydrogels, new technologies and new functional materials that can better mimic human tissues are the focus of this article collection.
The objective of this Research Topic is to cover the prospective current and novel research regarding bioactive hydrogels for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. It may include (but is not limited to) the following themes:
• Preparation and design of novel hydrogels with expected mechanism property, biocompatibility and controllable degradation process
• Novel technologies for synthesis of hydrogels
• “Smart” hydrogels with biological responses
• Technologies and design of engineered tissues based on hydrogels
Keywords: Tissue engineering, Bioactive, Hydrogels, Biocompatibility, 3D structure
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.