Beyond Jell-O: New ideas gel in the lab
The gelatin in your dessert bowl and the absorbant in your baby’s diapers are known technically as hydrogels. Now, researchers have created a new variety of hydrogels that they hope to use for more complex pursuits, including drug delivery, bone repair, and organ replacement.
Hydrogels are networks of polymers that don’t dissolve in water. Instead, they swell up, or gel. Many hydrogels, like the colorful edible gelatin, are made from natural proteins, while others are artificial.