The Intermediate Water Concept for Pioneering Polymeric Biomaterials: A Review and Update

Polymeric biomaterials are often used in water and hydration water molecules with different mobilities, such as non-freezing water, intermediate water, and free water, are formed on their surfaces. These water molecules affect biological responses between the biomaterials and biofluids. It is challenging to control the state of hydration waters by tuning chemical structures of the polymers toward advance of medical fields. This review describes and updates syntheses, analyses, and applications of the polymeric biomaterials based on the intermediate water concept. The concept provides significant opportunities for pioneering polymeric biomaterials.