Ionogels for biomedical applications

Abstract

Biomedicine seeks technological solutions to tackle major diseases, while bypassing the limitations of current treatment options. The pursuit of cost-effective and safer strategies has, among others, been focused on the design and development of novel engineered materials. Ionogels are a class of composite materials consisting of an ionic liquid (IL) immobilized by an inorganic or a polymer matrix. They have a significant structural diversity and can be tailored to address unmet needs of modern biomedicine. Based on a literature survey of the published data, this chapter aims to overview significant uses of ionogels in biomedical applications, namely in drug delivery, wound dressing, as bioelectronics and for sensing. Methods for the preparation of ionogels are described and their properties, particularly concerning biomedical suitability, are discussed. The main types of ionogels and associated ILs as well as their accomplishments and limitations are highlighted and, whenever possible, compared to other approaches. A critical assessment of ionogels application in biomedicine is provided by a SWOT analysis, thereby supporting the identification of future research directions and challenges.