Konstans Ruseva

1. Introduction The preparation of inorganic/organic hybrid materials (HMs) via a macromolecule-controlled biomimetic process helps for understanding naturally occurring biomineralization and results in the development of novel hybrid biomaterials with potential applications in dental medicine. Biomineralization is a process by which inorganic mineral crystals are formed and deposited in an organic matrix. Thus, structures with unique physicochemical and mechanical properties are formed.

1. Introduction Hydrogels are three-dimensional networks made from crosslinked polymers bearing in their side chains hydrophilic functional groups such as –COOH, –OH, –CONH2, -SO3H, R4N+, etc. These polymer networks are able to absorb and retain high water amounts, much higher than their own weight, which results in a significant increase in their volume upon swelling.

Research Article Denitsa Nikolova, Denitsa Nikolova Laboratory on Structure and Properties of Polymers, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Sofia, 1, James Bourchier blvd., 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria Search for more papers by this author Konstans Ruseva, Konstans Ruseva Laboratory on Structure and Properties of Polymers, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Sofia, 1, James Bourchier blvd., 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria Search for more papers by this author Christo Tzachev, Christo...