Water-Soluble Polyphosphazenes and Their Hydrogels

摘要

Six different classes of water-soluble polyphosphazenes have been synthesized andcharacterized. Several of the new polymers have been cross-linked to yield materials that absorb water to form hydrogels. This chapter examines the underlying concepts used in this work and describes the use of this chemistry to prepare new materials with controlled surface structures and with special properties such as lower critical solution temperatures, bioerodibility, or biocompatibility. The incorporation of these polymers into membranes or microencapsules is also described.