Rational design of hyper-crosslinked polymers for biomedical applications

Hyper-crosslinked polymers (HCPs) are a family of polymers that possess several desirable characteristics, including high specific surface area, excellent stability, tunable porous structures, and low-cost reagents. As a result, HCPs have gained significant attention in the areas of gas storage, adsorption, catalysis, separation, and carbon precursors, exhibiting advanced performances in catalytic and energy-related applications. Recently, researchers have explored the potential of HCPs in biomedical engineering. In this review, we discuss classical synthesis strategies and morphological assembly methods used to create HCPs with unique biological properties. We also highlight the latest advances in emerging biomedical areas of HCPs, such as drug delivery, antimicrobial, bioimaging, and biosensing. By providing various examples, we further discuss the correlations between the structures, morphologies, and enhanced biomedical properties of the HCPs. Finally, we summarize the key applications of HCPs and provide an outlook on the research direction to encourage further development of biomedically available HCPs. Overall, HCPs offer promising potential as a new class of materials for use in biomedical applications, and continued research in this field will lead to exciting discoveries and breakthroughs.