by Joel Harrison
14. August 2010 12:42
Hydrogels have been in use for many years. They have transformed contact lenses, turning them into the safe and comfortable products millions of people all over the world put in their eyes every day. They are also used in breast implants and for dressing wounds. Now, however, researchers may have found their most important application.
Thanks to the development of nanotechnology, hydrogels will be used as medicine delivery mechanisms. Microscopically small hydrogels will be a means of introducing various medications precisely where they should be placed to work topically, without damaging tissues that are unaffected by a disease. This means a much more effective way of dealing with different forms of cancer, especially because hydrogels can facilitate the administration of both chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
The technology has been patented by a Canadian company called Covalon Technologies Ltd., whose current products include wound dressings, collagen materials and medical coatings used, for instance, for urinary catheters.
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