Structural design of stimuli‐responsive bioconjugated hydrogels that respond to a target antigen

Abstract

Abstract Stimuli‐responsive bioconjugated hydrogels that can respond to a target antigen (antigen‐responsive hydrogels) were prepared by introducing antigen‐antibody bindings as reversible crosslinks into the gel networks. The preparation conditions of the antigen‐responsive hydrogels and the mechanism of the antigen‐responsive behavior were investigated, focusing on bioconjugated hydrogel structures. This article also focuses on the effect of semi‐interpenetrating polymer network (semi‐IPN) structures on the antigen‐responsive swelling/shrinking behavior of bioconjugated hydrogels with antigen‐antibody bindings. The preparation conditions and the network structures of the bioconjugated hydrogels are discussed in relation to designing antigen‐responsive hydrogels. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 2144–2157, 2009