Perspective: Recent developments in hybrid hydrogels containing inorganic nanomaterials

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) has been well known as a thermosensitive polymer and has been extensively studied for many applications such as drug delivery systems (DDS) as well as biomedical and tissue engineering. Recently, the hybridization of hydrogels with well-defined nanostructured inorganic materials is emerging as a promising and efficient technique to improve their properties. Newly developed hydrogels with superior properties and smart functions can achieve a great performance in the field of drug delivery systems, sensors, coatings, artificial organs, and chemical actuators for microfluidics and molecular robots. Here we briefly review recent advances in this emerging field.