Search Results (202)

Hydrogel-and-nanomaterial-integrated wearable biosensor networks are promising platforms for real-time biomedical monitoring because they combine soft biointerfaces, sensitive signal transduction, and wireless data connectivity. Hydrogels provide tissue-like softness, hydration, adhesion, permeability, and biocompatibility, whereas nanomaterials such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, MXenes, metallic nanoparticles, and conductive polymers enhance conductivity, electrochemical activity, optical responsiveness, mechanical durability, and signal amplification. This review summarizes recent advances in hydrogel-and-nanomaterial-integrated wearable biosensors, ranging from soft material interfaces and stand-alone sensing devices to wireless wearable nodes, IoT-connected platforms, and emerging closed-loop sensor–actuator systems. Because these platforms differ substantially in their level of integration and validation, this review distinguishes enabling material and device concepts from fully connected or closed-loop systems. The distinctive contribution of this review is a materials-to-systems, evidence-graded framework that links hydrogel and nanomaterial interface design with sensing mechanisms, wearable sensor-node integration, wireless and IoT connectivity, and closed-loop actuation while distinguishing device-level proof of concept from clinically validated performance. We discuss functional hydrogel design, nanomaterial-based conductive networks, hybrid hydrogel–nanomaterial structures, and key requirements for skin compatibility, adhesion, stretchability, and long-term stability. Major sensing mechanisms and biomedical targets are reviewed, including electrochemical and optical biosensing, mechanical and physiological signal sensing, and sweat biomarker monitoring. We further highlight system-level integration strategies involving wearable sensor nodes, wireless communication, smartphone and cloud connectivity, data processing, power management, security, and reliability. Representative biomedical applications are summarized, including sweat-based metabolic monitoring, smart wound monitoring, hydrogel-based wound dressings, cardiovascular and respiratory monitoring, and motion sensing. Finally, current technical and translational challenges are discussed with emphasis on the distinction between analytical sensing performance, physiological correlation, and clinical validation. Disease-management and closed-loop healthcare applications are discussed as emerging directions that require appropriate human studies, reference-method comparison, agreement analysis, long-term monitoring, and safety validation before clinical implementation. Full article

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death globally, and breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women. Even though surgical excision is the main treatment of solid tumors, recurrence and metastasis to another location postoperatively provide lasting therapeutic challenges. Systemic adverse effects and a lack of sufficient drug bioavailability at the resection site can often hinder traditional adjuvant modalities, especially chemotherapy and radiotherapy. To address these drawbacks, localized drug delivery platforms have gained a lot of interest, and hydrogels have emerged as highly beneficial systems. Hydrogels are three-dimensional hydrophilic polymer networks that can be designed to be injectable and in situ-forming. They can be engineered to fit irregular surgical cavities and deliver therapeutics in a long-lasting, controlled manner. The current literature review outlines the clinical issue of tumor recurrence following surgery with a special focus on breast cancer and evaluates hydrogel-based methods of site-specific therapy. We outline the categorization, assembly, and functionalization of hydrogel systems based on natural, synthetic, and hybrid polymers, and reflect on advanced stimuli-responsive and cell-targeted formulations in the context of cancer immunotherapy. This paper presents the translational applications of hydrogel platforms to enhance postoperative management and prevent tumor recurrence by combining new advances. Full article

To address the limitations of conventional polymer hydrogels in terms of sustainability and functionality, green soy protein (SP)-based hydrogels (SPHs) demonstrate significant potential. As an abundant, renewable plant protein, SP provides an ideal molecular platform for constructing high-performance, multifunctional hydrogels. This review systematically consolidates recent progress in SPHs. Firstly, the molecular fundamentals and gelation mechanisms of soy protein are analyzed in depth. Subsequently, key construction strategies, including physical, chemical, and enzymatic crosslinking, as well as composite/hybrid approaches, are comprehensively reviewed with respect to their mechanisms, advantages, and limitations. Following this, innovative applications of SPHs in biomedical, food and nutrition, environmental/agricultural, and smart material fields are highlighted. Finally, the current challenges facing research in mechanical properties, structure–property relationships, and scalable production are identified. Future directions include developing novel green crosslinking systems, deepening multi-scale structural control, and advancing smart integrated design. This review aims to provide researchers with a systematic knowledge framework spanning from “molecular understanding” to “functional customization,” thereby propelling soy protein hydrogels toward higher toughness, intelligence, and sustainability. Full article

Background: Plants have been traditionally used for centuries to treat wounds and, over time, have been tested for their healing properties. There is a constant search for new natural resources that could be used to develop various topical wound care products. Methods: A comprehensive search of the literature was conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science databases (2022–2026) in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Included studies focused on current in vitro and in vivo research on hydrogels containing plant extracts from the Asteraceae and Lamiaceae families and their potential application in wound healing and skin regeneration. Results: An analysis of 24 included studies confirms that both families include interesting and valuable plants with antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties; these plants also influence collagen deposition, fibroblast proliferation, and epithelialization, and reduce the risk of infection, thereby contributing to faster wound healing. The most frequently tested phytoextract in this respect was Calendula officinalis (Asteraceae) incorporated into a hydrogel. A variety of materials, including natural, semi-synthetic, and synthetic polymers, as well as hybrid matrix, but also diverse formulation strategies, from simple solutions to more advanced and modern methods, have been used to produce hydrogels. Conclusions: This systematic review summarizes the current evidence, highlights directions and possibilities for the use of phytoextract-based hydrogels, and discusses limitations and future perspectives in the development of effective externally applied formulations to support wound healing. Full article

Local drug delivery increasingly relies on injectable hydrogels that form directly at the x‘administration site, among which light-cured systems are of particular interest: irradiation converts a liquid precursor into a depot and can trigger drug release with high spatiotemporal resolution. The aim of this critical narrative review is to systematize the key design elements of such systems and to assess their path toward the clinic. We analyze the mechanisms of photoactivation, the role of wavelength, the natural, synthetic, and hybrid polymer matrices together with their tuning parameters, and the photoinitiators. The clinical and preclinical experience in dentistry, ophthalmology, regenerative medicine, and oncology is then considered separately. Finally, we address standardization through the Quality by Design concept. We show that, despite an extensive preclinical base, no photocrosslinkable injectable depot for drug delivery has yet been approved, whereas photopolymerization itself and the photoinitiators employed are already accepted in the clinic in adjacent fields. We conclude that clinical translation is defined by three tractable tasks: qualifying photoinitiators for the injectable route of administration, overcoming the limited depth of light activation, and standardizing characterization on the basis of Quality by Design. Full article

Oleanolic acid is a naturally occurring pentacyclic triterpenoid with broad preclinical promise in inflammation, oxidative stress, liver injury, metabolic disorders, cancer-related models, skin disease, and wound repair. Its further development, however, is constrained by poor aqueous solubility, low and variable bioavailability, limited barrier transport, crystallinity, and strong dependence of biological response on the formulation used. These properties make oleanolic acid a useful example of a hydrophobic natural compound whose pharmacological performance is inseparable from delivery design. This review examines polymeric nanocarriers and polymer-assisted delivery platforms developed for oleanolic acid delivery. Polymeric nanocarriers discussed in the review include biodegradable PLA/PLGA nanoparticles, PEGylated polymeric nanoparticles, polymeric micelles, nanogels, hyaluronic-acid-based nanoprodrugs, and selected polymer-assisted hybrid nanostructures. Hydrogels, polymeric fiber membranes, local depots, and microneedle systems are included as route-enabling delivery platforms when the polymeric matrix directly contributes to OA incorporation, carrier stabilization, local retention, barrier bypass, or release control. Non-polymeric delivery systems are discussed only as comparators or when their performance depends on integration with a polymeric component. Rather than treating these carriers only as solubility enhancers, the review evaluates how polymer composition, carrier architecture, drug physical state, release behavior, and route of administration affect oleanolic acid exposure. Particular attention is given to controlled release, local retention, disease-oriented delivery, and critical quality attributes such as particle size, loading, encapsulation efficiency, solid-state form, stability, residual solvent, sterility, and batch-to-batch reproducibility. Representative quantitative data on carrier size, drug loading, encapsulation efficiency, release, stability, tissue exposure, and biological outcomes are compared to illustrate both formulation-specific performance and the substantial methodological heterogeneity of the available studies. The available evidence indicates that increased apparent solubility, increased biological exposure, and improved therapeutic response should be treated as related but distinct outcomes. The most realistic near-term opportunities may lie in local and tissue-targeted applications, including inflammatory skin disease, wound healing, dermal delivery, and osteoarthritis, where sustained target-site exposure may be more relevant than systemic bioavailability. Future progress will depend on demonstrating that each formulation provides reproducible, safe, and route-appropriate OA exposure, together with a measurable advantage over simpler delivery approaches. Full article

Surgical procedures create dynamic interfaces between tissues, fluids, gases, and applied materials. Failure to control these interfaces can cause leakage, postoperative adhesion, scar tethering, poor tissue integration, maladaptive host responses, or loss of mechanical support. Hydrogels are attractive surgical materials because their hydrated polymer networks can be engineered for wet-tissue conformity, adhesion, transport, degradation, mechanical compatibility, and local biological activity. However, many hydrogel systems are still evaluated by polymer chemistry, stimulus type, or isolated physicochemical properties rather than by the operative function required at a defined surgical boundary. This narrative review proposes a function-based framework for designing and evaluating programmable hydrogels in surgical-interface control. Four principal functions—sealing, separation, protection, and integration/reinforcement—are linked to dominant failure modes, design priorities, endpoints, and comparator requirements. Hemostatic and other biological activities are treated as primary clinical claims or adjunct programs when they support these interface functions. Responsiveness is distinguished from clinically meaningful programmability using five operational criteria: input relevance, encoded transition, baseline and off-target stability, interface-level output, and matched-control comparison. DNA-based hydrogels are discussed as molecular modules for recognition, assembly, crosslinking, degradation, actuation, and release, mainly within mechanically robust hybrid systems. This framework emphasizes time-resolved, function-specific evaluation under procedure-relevant conditions. Full article

Chronic wounds constitute a major clinical and socioeconomic burden owing to prolonged inflammation, persistent bacterial infection, impaired angiogenesis, and defective extracellular matrix remodeling. Advanced wound dressings have traditionally been developed to promote tissue regeneration, control bacterial infection, and restore the wound microenvironment. Recent advances have focused on multifunctional biomaterials integrating regenerative, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and controlled drug-delivery properties. Within this context, antiviral biointerface engineering has emerged as a promising, although still exploratory, materials-engineering perspective rather than an established function of wound dressings. Hydrogel–metal–organic framework (MOF) hybrid polymer composites have emerged as versatile platforms for multifunctional wound dressings. Hydrogels provide hydrated three-dimensional matrices with tunable porosity, swelling behavior, mechanical compliance, and biocompatibility, whereas MOFs contribute high surface area, adjustable pore architectures, chemically tailorable active sites, and controlled ion release. Their integration generates synergistic systems whose performance is governed by structure–function relationships involving polymer crosslinking density, MOF dispersion, pore hierarchy, interfacial adhesion, swelling dynamics, and surface functionalization. Collectively, these parameters regulate mass transport, mechanical stability, therapeutic delivery, and cytocompatibility while potentially influencing virus–material interactions through engineered biointerfaces. Current evidence indicates that direct experimental demonstrations of antiviral performance in hydrogel–MOF wound dressing systems remain limited. Accordingly, antiviral biointerface functions should be regarded as emerging engineering opportunities requiring further experimental validation before clinical translation. This review critically analyzes the structure–function engineering principles governing hydrogel–MOF hybrid systems and examines how established regenerative functions may be integrated with emerging antiviral biointerface concepts. Unlike previous reviews focused primarily on drug delivery, antibacterial activity, or tissue engineering, this review emphasizes the relationships between polymer architecture, MOF chemistry, interfacial design, and transport phenomena while explicitly distinguishing experimentally supported evidence from prospective mechanistic concepts. Particular attention is given to current limitations, translational challenges, and future directions for the rational design of next-generation multifunctional hydrogel–MOF wound dressings. Full article

High-salinity waters, including seawater, brines, and saline radioactive effluents, contain recoverable uranium or require uranium removal, but their complex chemistry complicates both capture and regeneration. Under seawater-relevant conditions, U(VI) occurs mainly as uranyl carbonate complexes and ternary uranyl carbonate complexes containing Ca²⁺ or Mg²⁺ rather than as free UO₂²⁺. Selective separation therefore depends on coupled transport, hydration-shell reorganization, carbonate displacement, and interfacial coordination. Conventional sorbents largely optimize binding strength and adsorption capacity, often at the expense of harsh stripping and secondary waste. This review frames thermoresponsive uranium separation as a coupled aqueous-speciation, interfacial-state, and process-design problem. It examines how LCST and UCST transitions, polymer-brush reorganization, hydration-layer reconstruction, pore gating, and localized photothermal heating regulate access to binding sites and release pathways. Polymer brushes, hydrogels and microgels, membranes and nanochannels, ion-imprinted magnetic composites, and MXene-based hybrids are critically compared using cycle-level criteria, including U/V selectivity, switching time, regeneration demand, energy input, fouling resistance, material loss, synthesis reproducibility, and environmental performance. Particular emphasis is placed on distinguishing genuine structural gating from the generic effects of temperature on diffusion, ligand exchange, and adsorption equilibria. Current evidence supports the feasibility of programmable capture–release interfaces but remains limited by matrix-dependent transition windows, incomplete mechanistic attribution, scarce quantitative energy and temperature-gradient data, short cycling tests, and limited device-scale validation. Progress will require standardized testing in realistic saline matrices and complete capture–release mass and energy balances rather than evaluation by maximum adsorption capacity alone. Full article

Conventional polyolefin battery separators are limited by inherent deficiencies in thermal stability, electrolyte wettability, and environmental sustainability, which collectively hinder the advancement of high-energy-density energy storage systems. In this context, biomass macromolecular materials, including cellulose, chitin/chitosan, and lignin, have emerged as promising candidates for next-generation separators owing to their environmental benefits, exceptional hydrophilicity, and superior thermal resistance. This review systematically evaluates the molecular characteristics of these three biomass systems, alongside core gel-state processing and network-forming processes such as electrospinning, solution casting, nonwoven technology, and hydrogel-assisted film formation. It further highlights their cutting-edge applications in lithium-ion, lithium–sulfur, zinc-ion, and solid-state batteries, emphasizing their behavior as polymer gel electrolytes and gel-derived structural matrices. To overcome key challenges associated with mechanical robustness, interfacial compatibility, and network uniformity, advanced modification strategies are critically discussed, including surface chemical functionalization, multicomponent hybrid composite formulation, and rational three-dimensional structural engineering. Overall, current research evidence demonstrates that rationally designed biomass-based gel networks and membranes can effectively suppress metal dendrite growth, immobilize soluble polysulfide intermediates via supramolecular interactions, and reduce interfacial impedance in solid-state systems, thereby offering a viable pathway toward safer, more sustainable, and commercially competitive high-energy-density batteries. Full article

The growing demand for sustainable, biocompatible, and non-toxic biomaterials has driven significant advancements in biobased gels for biomedical applications. Among these, cellulose—the most abundant renewable biopolymer—presents an ideal platform due to its inherent hydrophilicity, structural tunability, and biodegradability. This review reports the recent advancements in the processing and engineering of cellulose-based hydrogels for drug delivery systems. We systematically explore the primary synthesis routes, including physical, chemical, and hybrid cross-linking strategies. Special emphasis is placed on chemical modifications (e.g., sulfation, carboxylation, etherification, and polymer grafting) that allow precise tuning of the gel’s mechanical strength, swelling kinetics, and stimuli-responsiveness (such as pH, temperature, or enzyme sensitivity). Furthermore, the review highlights essential characterization techniques—spanning structural, morphological, and rheological evaluations—used to relate cross-link density to the water-holding capacity and network homogeneity. By leveraging their highly hydrated and porous 3D architectures, these modified cellulosic networks demonstrate exceptional efficiency in drug loading, controlled release, and targeted localized therapy. Finally, we discuss current challenges, including industrial scalability and mechanical stability, and provide future perspectives on integrating nanoparticles and bioactive moieties to develop “smart” drug-eluting matrices and wound care dressings. Ultimately, this review underscores the immense potential of cellulose-based gels in advancing both clinical outcomes and circular economy goals. Full article

Musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders—osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, intervertebral disc degeneration, tendinopathy, and skeletal muscle injury—contribute the largest share of years lived with disability worldwide. Conventional therapy relies on systemic dosing or repeated intra-articular and peri-tissue injections, which suffer from off-target toxicity, poor lesional bioavailability, and low adherence. Polymer microneedles (MNs)—micron-scale projections of biodegradable, dissolving, hydrogel-forming, or composite polymers—have rapidly matured into a versatile platform for minimally invasive, spatially localized, and temporally programmable delivery of small molecules, biologics, nucleic acids, extracellular vesicles, and cells to MSK tissues. This review synthesizes 2018–2026 advances in polymer MN systems engineered specifically for MSK regeneration. We classify dominant polymer chemistries and MN architectures; map fit-for-purpose across bone, cartilage, joint, intervertebral disc, tendon, and skeletal muscle; and survey “smart” MN designs that exploit reactive oxygen species, pH, mechanical, triboelectric, optogenetic, and ultrasonic triggers. We close with a concise conclusion and forward perspective that identifies the key design levers—hybrid MN–scaffold combination products, stimuli-responsive platforms tuned to the MSK micro-environment, and cell- and EV-loaded formats—most likely to have clinical impact. Full article

Chemotherapy has been used in cancer treatment for decades; however, standard chemotherapy treatments still have significant weaknesses, including collateral damage to healthy tissue, rapid development of drug resistance, and dose-limiting toxicity that limits therapeutic value. There is now an alternative approach using polymer materials that are responsive to biological stimuli that will allow for improved treatment of cancer while avoiding the limitations. Responsive polymer materials are designed to be inert during circulation until they reach their site of action; then, they will respond to specific triggers. These smart carriers respond to stimuli present in the tumor microenvironment (e.g., low pH, high glutathione levels, and increased proteolytic activity) or external stimuli applied at the bedside (e.g., localized heat, light, ultrasound, and applied magnetic fields). In both cases, there is a consistent pattern where the drug is released exactly where/when it is needed, with minimal drug release occurring outside that location and timeframe. Therefore, it is theorized that the use of polymeric-based delivery systems with stimuli-regulated drug release will significantly increase the concentration of drug delivered intratumorally, decrease the drug toxicity, and provide a potential mechanism to overcome the development of multidrug resistance from a variety of cancer treatments. To date, various types of responsive polymers have been developed and could be combined to give rise to a wide variety of different vehicle systems (e.g., micelles, nanogels, hydrogels, and hybrid delivery systems), with many of these carriers designed to respond to multiple stimuli simultaneously. Nonetheless, significant challenges remain in the clinical application of these materials due to tumor heterogeneity, immune system interactions, reproducibility issues, polymer chemistry advances, surface chemistry, and other interaction mechanisms. As a result of all of these evolving regulatory systems, as well as some of the emerging areas of polymer chemistry and surface engineering, theranostic integration will allow for new routes to provide therapy for patients with cancer. Additionally, because of these scientific advances, there will also be more opportunities to provide targeted, controllable, and on-demand treatments to patients using stimuli-responsive polymers. Full article

Chitosan, produced through deacetylation of chitin from crustacean byproducts and, increasingly, fungal biomass and insects, is attracting food-sector interest because it combines antimicrobial activity, antioxidant capacity, biodegradability, and film-forming behavior in a single polymer. This review discusses how source, molecular weight (MW), degree of deacetylation, solubility, and charge density shape its performance in food systems. The paper then follows the main technological routes now tested or used: edible films and coatings, hydrogels, cryogels, nanoparticles, microcapsules, and hybrid matrices. These formats can protect fresh produce, meat, poultry, fish, seafood, and dairy foods, while also supporting beverage clarification, emulsion control, release of natural antimicrobials or antioxidants, and freshness monitoring in active or intelligent packaging. The evidence indicates strong promise, especially where microbial growth, lipid oxidation, moisture transfer, and short shelf life remain limiting factors. Yet, wider industrial use is still slowed by water sensitivity, sensory effects, raw-material variation, cost, process scale-up, and regulatory alignment. Future work should move beyond laboratory efficacy and address reproducible production, food-specific validation, and consumer acceptance. Full article

Hydrogel-based sensors have emerged as transformative soft-sensing platforms, featuring tissue-matched compliance, high water content, stimuli responsiveness, and chemical tunability, properties which are unachievable with conventional rigid sensors. Despite substantial advances, the existing reviews focus on individual polymer categories, discrete transduction mechanisms, or targeted standalone applications, failing to establish an integrated pipeline from material design to final sensing performance. This review fills these crucial gaps by systematically correlating polymer chemistry, crosslinking tactics, and fabrication protocols with the selection of transduction mechanisms and resultant sensing performance across biomedical and environmental fields. We conduct a critical assessment of natural and synthetic polymers together with chemical, physical, and hybrid composite crosslinking methodologies. Multiple sensing modalities, including piezoresistive, capacitive, thermogalvanic, electrochemical, colorimetric, ratiometric fluorescence, and piezoionic sensing are elaborated alongside representative quantitative performance parameters. Emerging platforms, including self-powered thermogalvanic sensors, SERS-integrated biosensors, and MXene/MOF composites, are highlighted as underexplored frontiers. In addition, persistent bottlenecks including dehydration-derived signal drift, inferior long-term operational stability, unsatisfactory target selectivity, and obstacles toward large-scale manufacturability are rigorously analyzed. Ultimately, this review constructs a holistic unified framework bridging polymer molecular design, fabrication engineering, signal transduction, and practical end-use applications, laying a clear developmental roadmap for next-generation flexible and smart hydrogel-based sensing systems. Full article