Poly (vinyl alcohol) Ferrogels: Synthesis and Applications

JIMENA SOLEDAD GONZALEZ; CRISTINA HOPPE; VERA ALEJANDRA ALVAREZ

Advances in Materials Science Research

Nova Science Publishers

Lugar: New York; Año: 2011;

Ferrogels are stimuli responsive polymers with interesting and promising applications in the development of advanced functional devices. Many of the properties and performance of these systems, as well as their potentiality as actuators, depend on the magnetic properties and loading of nanoparticles (NPs)  and the dispersion level that they attain in the matrix. Hence, they are much related with the synthesis process and the way in which NPs are incorporated to the matrix. Poly (vinyl alcohol), PVA, is an ideal polymer for the development of ferrogels because it is non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, biocompatible, water-soluble and inexpensive. For all these reasons, hydrogels obtained by crosslinking of PVA have important applications in medicine and pharmaceutical sciences. Here, we describe different ways to incorporate magnetic NPs in polymer hydrogels, especially in PVA, to produce ferrogels with potential applications in drug release, actuation, artificial muscles, etc. Several examples from the recent literature are mentioned as well as the potentiality of these systems in the biomedical field.