Collagen and Keratin as a Components of Hydrogels

Abstract Smart hydrogels, or stimuli-responsive hydrogels, can and should play an important role as excellent drug carriers. These three-dimensional structure materials are composed of crosslinked hydrophilic polymer chains that are able to dramatically change their volume and other properties in response to environmental stimuli, such as pH, temperature and solvent changes. The main goal of individual research projects was the development of new hydrogels based on polypeptides. These hybrid materials are crosslinked hydrophilic polymers capable of absorbing large amounts of water, saline or physiological solutions. Superabsorbent hydrogels based on natural materials are non-toxic, biocompatible and biodegradable. Unfortunately, their mechanical properties in the swollen state are weak. In this article, we present a review of literature on the synthesis of smart hydrogels based on keratin or collagen with synthetic materials.