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Self-healing hydrogels are a specialized type of polymer hydrogel. A hydrogel is a macromolecular polymer gel constructed of a network of crosslinked polymer chains. Hydrogels are synthesized from hydrophlic monomers by either chain or step growth, along with a functional crosslinker to promote network formation. A net-like structure along with void imperfections enhance the hydrogel's ability to absorb large amounts of water via hydrogen bonding. As a result, hydrogels, self-healing alike, develop characteristic firm yet elastic mechanical properties. Self-healing refers to the spontaneous formation of new bonds when old bonds are broken within a material. The structure of the hydrogel along with electrostatic attraction forces drive new bond formation through reconstructive covalent dangling side chain or non-covalent hydrogen bonding. These flesh-like properties have motivated the research and development of self-healing hydrogels in fields such as reconstructive tissue engineering as scaffolding, as well as use in passive and preventive applications.

Synthesis
A variety of different polymerization methods may be utilized for the synthesis of hydrogels. Crosslinking is the process of joining two or more polymer chains. Both chemical and physical crosslinking exists. In addition, both natural polymers such as proteins or synthetic polymers with a high affinity for water may be used as starting materials when selecting a hydrogel. Different crosslinking methods can be implemented for the design of a hydrogel. By definition, a crosslinked polymer gel is a macromolecule that solvent will not dissolve. Due to the polymeric domains created by crosslinking in the gel microstructure, hydrogels are not homogenous within the selected solvent system. The following tables summarize the chemical and physical methods by which hydrogels are formed.

Special Types
Some hydrogels are able to respond to stimuli and their surrounding environments. Examples of these stimuli include light, temperature, pH, and electical fields. Hydrogels that are temperature sensitive are known as thermogels. Thermo-responsive hydrogels undergo reversible, thermally induced phase transition upon reaching either the upper or lower critical solution temperature. By definition, a crosslinked polymer gel is a macromolecule that cannot dissolve. Due to the polymeric domains created by crosslinking, in the gel microstructure, hydrogels are not homogenous within the solvent system in which they are placed into. Swelling of the network, however, does occur in the presence of a proper solvent. Voids in the microstructure of the gel where crosslinking agent or monomer has aggregated during polymerization can cause solvent to diffuse into or out of the hydrogel. The microstructure of hydrogel therefore are not constant, and imperfections occur where water from outside of the gel can accumulate these voids. This process is temperature dependant, and solvent behavior depends on whether the solvent-gel system has reached, or surpassed, the critical solution temperature (LCST). The LCST defines a boundary between which a gel or polymer chain will separate solvent into one or two phases. The spinodial and binodial regions of a polymer-solvent phase diagram represent the energetic favorability of the hydrogel becoming miscible in solution or separating into two phases. Two other unique types of hydrogels known as xerogels and aerogels also exist. An xerogel is a solid formed from a gel that retains about 25% of its porosity. A aerogel is a hydrogel that has been dried and the liquid component of the gel becomes a gas. They are characterized by a very low density and an almost translucent, smoky appearance.

Hydrogen Bonding
Hydrogen bonding is a strong intermolecular force that forms a special type of dipole-dipole attraction. Hydrogen Bonds form when a hydrogen atom bonded to a strongly electronegative atom is around another electronegative atom with a lone pair of electrons. Hydrogen bonds are stronger than normal dipole-dipole interactions and dispersion forces but they remain weaker than covalent and ionic bonds. In hydrogels, structure and stability of water molecules are highly affected by the bonds. The polar groups in the polymer strongly bind water molecules and form hydrogen bonds which also cause hydrophobic effects to occur. These hydrophobic effects can be exploited to design chemically cross-linked hydrogels that exhibit self healing abilities. The hydrophobic effects combined with the hydrophilic effects within the hydrogel structure can be balanced through dangling side chains that mediates the hydrogen bonding that occurs between two separate hydrogel pieces or across a ruptured hydrogel.

Dangling Side Chain
A dangling side chain is a hydrocarbon chain side chains that branch off of the backbone of the polymer. Attached to the side chain are polar functional groups. The side chains "dangle" across the surface of the hydrogel, allowing it to interact with other functional groups and form new bonds. The ideal side chain would be long and flexible so it could reach across the surface to react, but short enough to minimize steric hinderance and collapse from the hydrophobic effect. The side chains need to keep both the hydrophobic and hydrophilic effects in balance. In a study performed by the University of California San Diego to compare healing ability, hydrogels of varying side chain lengths with similar cross linking contents were compared and the results showed that healing ability of the hydrogels depends nonmonotonically on the side chain length. With shorter side chain lengths, there is limited reach of the carboxyl group which decreases the mediation of the hydrogen bonds across the interface. As the chain increases in length, the reach of the carboxyl group becomes more flexible and the hydrogen bonds can mediated. However, when a side chain length is too long, the interruption between the interaction of the carboxyl and amide groups that help to mediate the hydrogen bonds. It can also accumulate and collapse the hydrogel and prevent the healing from occuring.

Surfactant Effects
Most self-healing hydrogels rely on electrostatic attraction to spontaneously create new bonds. The electrostatic attraction can be masked using pronation of the polar functional groups. When the pH is lowered the polar functional groups become deprotanated, freeing the polar functional group to react. Since the hydrogels rely on electrostatic attraction for self-healing, the process can be affected by electrostatic screening. The effects of a change in salinity can be modeled using the Gouy-Chapman-Stern theory Double Layer.

$$ \phi= \zeta * e^{\kappa h} $$
 * $$\zeta $$ : Zeta Potential


 * $$\kappa $$: Salinity of solution

To calculate the Gouy-Chapmanm potential, the salinity factor must be calculated. The expression given for the salinity factor is as follows: $$\kappa = \sqrt{\frac{\Sigma (z*e)^2 C_0^*}{\epsilon_r \epsilon_0 k_B T}}$$
 * $$\ h $$: Distance between molecules, if the polar functional group is one molecule and an ion in solution is the other.


 * $$\ z $$: Charge of ion


 * $$\ e $$: 1.6 * 10^{-19} C


 * $$ C_0^* $$: Number of ions per cubic meter


 * $$ \epsilon_r $$: Dielectric constant of solvent


 * $$\epsilon_0 $$: 8.85 * 10^{-12} C^2/(J*m), the permattivity of free space


 * $$ k_B $$: 1.38 * 10^{-23} m^2 kg/(s^2), Boltzmann Constant


 * $$\ T $$: Temperature in Kelvin

These effects become important when considering the application of self-healing hydrogels to the medical field. They will be affected by the pH and salinity of blood.

These effects also come into play during synthesis when trying to add large hydrophobes to a hydrophilic polymer backbone. A research group from the Istanbul Technical University has shown that large hydrophobes can be added by adding an electrolyte in a sufficient amount. During synthesis, the hydrophobes were held in micelles before attaching to the polymer backbone. By increasing the salinity of the solution, the micelles were able to grow and encompass more hydrophobes. If there are more hydrophobes in a micelle, then the solubility of the hydrophobe increases. The increase in the solubility lead to an increase in the formation of hydrogels with large hydrophobes.

Surface Tension and Energy
The surface tension (γ) of a material is directly related to its intramolecular and intermolecular forces. The stronger the force, the greater the surface tension. This can be modeled by an equation:

Where ΔvapU is the energy of vaporization, NA is Avogadro's number, and a2 is the surface area per molecule. This equation also implies that the energy of vaporization affects surface tension. It is known that the stronger the force, the higher the energy of vaporization. Surface tension can then be used to calculate surface energy (uσ). An equation describing this property is:


 * $$u^\sigma=(\gamma-T)\frac{\delta\gamma}{\delta T}$$

Where T is temperature and the system is at constant pressure and area. Specifically for hydrogels, the free surface energy can be predicted using the Flory–Huggins free energy function for the hydrogels.

For hydrogels, surface tension plays a role in several additional characteristics including swelling ratio and stabilization.

Swelling
Hydrogels have the remarkable ability to swell in water and aqueous solvents. During the process of swelling surface instability can occur. This instability depends on the thickness of the hydrogel layers and the surface tension. A higher surface tension stabilizes the flat surface of the hydrogel, which is the outer-most layer. The swelling ratio of the flat layer can be calculated using the following equation derived from the Flory-Huggins theory of free surface energy in hydrogels:


 * $$\ln\left(1-\frac{1}{\lambda_h}\right) + \frac{1}{\lambda_h} + \frac{\chi}{\lambda^2_h} + Nv\left(\lambda_h-\frac{1}{\lambda_h}\right) = \frac{\hat\mu-pv}{k_BT}$$

Where λh is the swelling ratio, μ is the chemical potential, p is pressure, kB is Boltzmann's constant, and χ and Nv are unitless hydrogel constants. As swelling increases, mechanical properties generally suffer.

Surface Deformation
The surface deformation of hydrogels is important because it can result in self-induced cracking. Each hydrogel has a characteristic wavelength of instability (λ) that depends on elastocapillary length. This length is calculated by dividing the surface tension (γ) by the elasticity (μ) of the hydrogel. The greater the wavelength of instability, the greater the elastocapillary length of instability, which makes a material more prone to cracking. The characteristic wavelength of instability can be modeled by:

$$ \lambda = ({\gamma*H^3 \over \mu})^{1/4} $$

Where H is the thickness of the hydrogel.

Medical
Self-healing hydrogels encompass a wide range of applications. With a high biocompatibility, hydrogels are useful for a number of medical applications. Areas where active research is currently been conducted include:
 * Absorbable sutures
 * Tissue engineering and regeneration

Polymer Scaffolds
Polymer scaffolds using self-healing hydrogels are structurally similar to the extracellular matrices of many of the tissues. Scaffolds act as three-dimensional artificial templates in which the tissue targeted for reconstruction is cultured to grow onto. The high porosity of hydrogels allows for the diffusion of cells during migration, as well as the transfer of nutrients and waste products away from cellular membranes. Scaffolds are subject to harsh processing conditions during tissue culturing. These include mechanical stimulation to promote cellular growth, a process which places stress on the scaffold structure. This stress may lead to localized rupturing of the scaffold which is detrimental to the reconstruction process. In a self-healing hydrogel scaffold, ruptured scaffolds have the ability for localized self-repair of their damaged three-dimensional structure.

Integrated Fiber Nanostructures
Peptide-based self-healing hydrogels may be selectively grown onto nanofiber material which can then incorporated into the desired reconstructive tissue target. The hydrogel framework is then chemically modified to promote cell adhesion to the nanofiber peptide scaffold. Because the growth of the extracellular matrix scaffold is pH dependent, the materials selected must be factored for pH response when selecting the scaffolding material.

Other Uses
Although research is currently focusing on the bioengineering aspect of self-healing hydrogels, several non-medical applications do exist, including:
 * pH meters
 * Sealants for acid leaks

pH Meter
Dangling type side chain self-healing hydrogels are activated by changes in the relative acidity of solution they are in. Depending on user specified application, side chains may be selectively used in self-healing hydrogels as pH indicators. If a specified functional group chain end with a low pKa, such as a carboxylic acid, is subject to a neutral pH conditions, water will deprotonate the acidic chain end, activating the chain ends. Crosslinking or what is known as self-healing will begin, causing two or more separated hydrogels to fuse into one.

Sealant
Research into the use self-healing hydrogels has revealed an effective method for mitigating acid spills through the ability to selectively crosslink under acidic conditions. In a testing done by the University of California San Diego, various surfaces were coated with self healing hydrogels and then mechanically damaged with 300 micrometer wide cracks with the coatings healing the crack within seconds upon exposure of low pH buffers .The hydrogels also can adhere to various plastics due to hydrophobic interactions. Both findings suggest the use of these hydrogels as a sealant for vessels containing corrosive acids. No commercial applications currently exist for implementation of this technology.