Hydrogels are soft materials that consist of a network structure that is excellent at retaining water. Over the past few years, there has been a great deal of interest in the development of hydrogel materials with tuneable structural, mechanical, rheological and biological properties. At present, there is no unified understanding of the fundamental principles and the various applications of complex hydrogel systems. We propose an interdisciplinary meeting devoted to the fundamental principles of hydrogels to better enable their more rational characterization and development for applications in 3D and 4D printing in both the materials science and medical science fields. The focus of this symposium ranges from theoretical aspects in the understanding and design of hydrogels to biofabrication and additive manufacturing of hydrogels into materials, components and devices for application in tissue engineering (e.g. artificial implants), as in vitro tissue models (e.g. for cancer research or drug testing) and assisted health technologies (e.g. wearables). Within this context, a broad range of subjects including molecular modelling, self-healing, self-assembly behaviour, additive manufacturing and devices will be discussed.

This symposium will bring together experts from diverse and multidisciplinary research areas with a strong interest in synthetic and/or biopolymer hydrogels to cover the complete range of hydrogel research, from theoretical fundamental aspects to application areas. The purpose of the symposium is to bring together scientists and engineers, whose research involves hydrogels to exchange ideas and promote collaboration. The invited presentations will be given by leading researchers from academia, government laboratories, and industry.

Joint Sessions are being considered with Symposium SB01—Multifunctional Materials—From Conceptual Design to Application-Motivated Systems.

biological biomedical devices elastic properties extrusion polymer toughness viscoelasticity water