Search Results (193)

The precise management of chronic wounds poses a global medical challenge, owing to their complex and dynamically shifting pathological microenvironment, coupled with their inherent difficulty in healing. Traditional dressings, which lack capabilities for real-time monitoring and active intervention, fall short of meeting modern clinical needs. Composite hydrogels offer a novel solution to this problem. By integrating functional fillers within biocompatible hydrogel matrices, they form intelligent materials capable of sensing key wound parameters. This review systematically outlines the composite systems and material classification of such hydrogels designed for the intelligent monitoring of chronic wounds. It subsequently details the construction of multimodal monitoring systems and their applications across different types of chronic wounds., Finally, future development direction are discussed, aiming to advance the implementation of next generation, personalized intelligent wound management systems. Full article

Diabetic wounds are a major clinical challenge, driven by hyperglycemia, oxidative stress, persistent inflammation, and bacterial infection. Conventional dressings offer limited benefit, creating demand for advanced therapeutic strategies. This review analyzes hydrogel-based wound dressings and flexible electronic devices. Hydrogels are categorized by angiogenesis promotion, antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory regulation, antibacterial action, and electrical conductivity. Flexible electronics are examined for adaptability, sensitivity, and real-time monitoring potential. Hydrogels maintain moist environments, support tissue regeneration, and deliver multifunctional bioactivity. Growth factor-loaded and electroactive hydrogels promote angiogenesis. Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive systems restore redox balance. Anti-inflammatory and antibacterial hydrogels regulate macrophages and reduce infection risk. Conductive hydrogels accelerate healing through electrical stimulation. Flexible electronics provide continuous monitoring, intelligent feedback, and remote management, enhancing treatment precision. Their integration with hydrogels represents a paradigm shift from passive dressings to active diagnostic and therapeutic systems. Challenges remain in material design, interfacial stability, and long-term biocompatibility. These issues guide future innovation and clinical translation, offering a foundation for smart diabetic wound management. Full article

Atherosclerosis remains a leading cause of cardiovascular mortality despite advances in pharmacological and interventional therapies. Current treatment approaches face limitations including systemic side effects, inadequate local drug delivery, and restenosis following vascular interventions. Gel-based technologies offer unique advantages through tunable mechanical properties, controlled degradation kinetics, high drug-loading capacity, and potential for stimuli-responsive therapeutic release. This review examines gel platforms across multiple scales and applications in atherosclerosis research and intervention. First, gel-based in vitro models are discussed. These include hydrogel matrices simulating plaque microenvironments, three-dimensional cellular culture platforms, and microfluidic organ-on-chip devices. These devices incorporate physiological flow to investigate disease mechanisms under controlled conditions. Second, therapeutic strategies are addressed through macroscopic gels for localized treatment. These encompass natural polymer-based, synthetic polymer-based, and composite formulations. Applications include stent coatings, adventitial injections, and catheter-delivered depots. Natural polymers often possess intrinsic biological activities including anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties that may contribute to therapeutic effects. Third, nano- and microgels for systemic delivery are examined. These include polymer-based nanogels with stimuli-responsive drug release responding to oxidative stress, pH changes, and enzymatic activity characteristic of atherosclerotic lesions. Inorganic–organic composite nanogels incorporating paramagnetic contrast agents enable theranostic applications by combining therapy with imaging-guided treatment monitoring. Current challenges include manufacturing consistency, mechanical stability under physiological flow, long-term safety assessment, and regulatory pathway definition. Future opportunities are discussed in multi-functional integration, artificial intelligence-guided design, personalized formulations, and biomimetic approaches. Gel technologies demonstrate substantial potential to advance atherosclerosis management through improved spatial and temporal control over therapeutic interventions. Full article

Background: Frostbite injury creates an ischemic, hypoxic, and acidic microenvironment that often triggers severe oxidative stress and inflammation. Current therapeutic approaches are limited by low drug delivery efficiency and an inability to adequately regulate multiple pathological pathways. Although oxyresveratrol (OR) exhibits excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, its application is hampered by poor aqueous solubility and low stability. Methods: We constructed Oxyresveratrol@Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8 nanoparticles (OR@ZIF-8) and further embedded them in a sodium hyaluronate (HA) matrix to form an OR@ZIF-8@HA composite hydrogel. The physicochemical properties and pH-responsive drug release behavior of the system were characterized. Its antioxidant activity, ability to promote cell migration, and capacity to modulate macrophage polarization were evaluated in cellular assays. The therapeutic efficacy was further investigated using a mouse frostbite model, with wound repair analyzed via histological staining. Results: The OR@ZIF-8 nanoparticles achieved a cumulative release rate of 75.46 ± 3.68% under acidic conditions within 36 h. In vitro experiments demonstrated that the formulation significantly scavenged TNF-α and IL-6, by 161.85 ± 19.43% and 125.37 ± 12.65%, respectively, and increased the level of IL-10 by 44.97 ± 4.57%. In a scratch assay, it promoted wound healing, achieving a closure rate of 97.55 ± 2.77% after 36 h. In vivo studies revealed that the OR@ZIF-8@HA treatment group achieved a wound healing rate of 96.14 ± 4.12% on day 14. Conclusions: The OR@ZIF-8@HA composite hydrogel effectively overcomes the limitations of OR application via intelligent pH-responsive delivery. Through synergistic multi-mechanistic actions, it significantly accelerates frostbite wound healing, offering a novel and efficient therapeutic strategy for frostbite management. Full article

Microfluidic cell culture systems and organ-on-a-chip platforms provide powerful tools for modeling physiological processes, disease progression, and drug responses under controlled microenvironmental conditions. These technologies rely on diverse cell culture methodologies, including 2D and 3D culture formats, spheroids, scaffold-based systems, hydrogels, and organoid models, to recapitulate tissue-level functions and generate rich, multiparametric datasets through high-resolution imaging, integrated sensors, and biochemical assays. The heterogeneity and volume of these data introduce substantial challenges in pre-processing, feature extraction, multimodal integration, and biological interpretation. Artificial intelligence (AI), particularly machine learning and deep learning, offers solutions to these analytical bottlenecks by enabling automated phenotyping, predictive modeling, and real-time control of microfluidic environments. Recent advances also highlight the importance of technical frameworks such as dimensionality reduction, explainable feature selection, spectral pre-processing, lightweight on-chip inference models, and privacy-preserving approaches that support robust and deployable AI–microfluidic workflows. AI-enabled microfluidic and organ-on-a-chip systems now span a broad application spectrum, including cancer biology, drug screening, toxicity testing, microbial and environmental monitoring, pathogen detection, angiogenesis studies, nerve-on-a-chip models, and exosome-based diagnostics. These platforms also hold increasing potential for precision medicine, where AI can support individualized therapeutic prediction using patient-derived cells and organoids. As the field moves toward more interpretable and autonomous systems, explainable AI will be essential for ensuring transparency, regulatory acceptance, and biological insight. Recent AI-enabled applications in cancer modeling, drug screening, etc., highlight how deep learning can enable precise detection of phenotypic shifts, classify therapeutic responses with high accuracy, and support closed-loop regulation of microfluidic environments. These studies demonstrate that AI can transform microfluidic systems from static culture platforms into adaptive, data-driven experimental tools capable of enhancing assay reproducibility, accelerating drug discovery, and supporting personalized therapeutic decision-making. This narrative review synthesizes current progress, technical challenges, and future opportunities at the intersection of AI, microfluidic cell culture platforms, and advanced organ-on-a-chip systems, highlighting their emerging role in precision health and next-generation biomedical research. Full article

Temperature-responsive hydrogels are sophisticated stimuli-responsive biomaterials that undergo rapid, reversible sol–gel phase transitions in response to subtle thermal stimuli, most notably around physiological temperature. This inherent thermosensitivity enables non-invasive, precise spatiotemporal control of material properties and bioactive payload release, rendering them highly promising for advanced biomedical applications. This review critically surveys recent advances in the design, synthesis, and translational potential of thermo-responsive hydrogels, emphasizing nanoscale and hybrid architectures optimized for superior tunability and biological performance. Foundational systems remain dominated by poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm), which exhibits a sharp lower critical solution temperature near 32 °C, alongside Pluronic/Poloxamer triblock copolymers and thermosensitive cellulose derivatives. Contemporary developments increasingly exploit biohybrid and nanocomposite strategies that incorporate natural polymers such as chitosan, gelatin, or hyaluronic acid with synthetic thermo-responsive segments, yielding materials with markedly enhanced mechanical robustness, biocompatibility, and physiologically relevant transition behavior. Cross-linking methodologies—encompassing covalent chemical approaches, dynamic physical interactions, and radiation-induced polymerization are rigorously assessed for their effects on network topology, swelling/deswelling kinetics, pore structure, and degradation characteristics. Prominent applications include on-demand drug and gene delivery, injectable in situ gelling systems, three-dimensional matrices for cell encapsulation and organoid culture, tissue engineering scaffolds, self-healing wound dressings, and responsive biosensing platforms. The integration of multi-stimuli orthogonality, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence-guided materials discovery is anticipated to deliver fully programmable, patient-specific hydrogels, establishing them as pivotal enabling technologies in precision and regenerative medicine. Full article

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) has become one of the most influential materials in neural engineering, offering high electrical conductivity, mechanical softness, and stable processing in complex aqueous media. Beyond these well-known merits, recent studies indicate that PEDOT:PSS can be regarded as a bio-solid electrolyte interphase (bio-SEI) that governs the interactions between neural probes and biological tissue. In this framework, PEDOT:PSS functions as a selective and adaptive interphase that mediates ion and electron transport, buffers mechanical mismatch, and mitigates chemical or biological degradation at the device-tissue boundary. This review critically summarizes the progress in molecular design, synthesis, and post-treatment strategies that enhance PEDOT:PSS stability and compatibility within physiological environments. Developments such as polydopamine-assisted adhesion, zwitterionic modification, and hybridization with soft hydrogels have expanded its role from a passive coating to an active, self-regulating interphase that prolongs implant performance. We further discuss how the hierarchical structure of PEDOT:PSS—from its molecular organization to device-level morphology—contributes to long-term electrochemical and biological stability. By treating PEDOT:PSS as an intrinsic bio-SEI rather than a simple conductive coating, this perspective highlights its central role in the development of durable, biocompatible, and intelligent neural interfaces for next-generation implantable electronics. Full article

In recent years, polymer-mediated signal amplification has drawn wide attention in bioelectronic sensing. With the rapid progress of biosensing and flexible electronics, polymers with excellent electron–ion transport properties, tunable molecular structures, and good biocompatibility have become essential materials for enhancing detection sensitivity and interfacial stability. However, current sensing systems still face challenges such as signal attenuation, surface fouling, and multi-component interference in complex biological environments, limiting their use in medical diagnosis and environmental monitoring. This review summarizes the progress of conductive polymers, molecularly imprinted polymers, hydrogels, and composite polymers in medical diagnosis, food safety, and environmental monitoring, focusing on their signal amplification mechanisms and structural optimization strategies in electronic transport regulation, molecular recognition enhancement, and antifouling interface design. Overall, polymers improve detection performance through interfacial electronic reconstruction and multidimensional synergistic amplification, offering new ideas for developing highly sensitive, stable, and intelligent biosensors. In the future, polymer-based amplification systems are expected to expand in multi-parameter integrated detection, long-term wearable monitoring, and in situ analysis of complex samples, providing new approaches to precision medicine and sustainable environmental health monitoring. Full article

Traditional drug delivery methods for gastrointestinal diseases, including oral and systemic administration, often suffer from degradation, inadequate mucosal absorption, and off-target toxicity. Consequently, these methods result in low bioavailability and suboptimal therapeutic outcomes for localized conditions such as inflammation and early-stage cancer. This review examines the innovative integration of advanced bioengineering platforms with therapeutic gastrointestinal endoscopy to address these delivery challenges. We concentrate on three principal bioengineered platforms: (1) nanoparticle systems (e.g., lipid, polymeric, and inorganic nanoparticles) designed for localized chemotherapy and theranostics; (2) in situ-forming hydrogels that serve as intelligent wound management materials and sustained drug depots; and (3) drug-eluting and biodegradable stents that convert passive luminal scaffolds into active, long-term drug-releasing devices. An analysis of these platforms demonstrates that their synergy with endoscopy facilitates precise, minimally invasive, and sustained local therapy, potentially transforming the treatment landscape for gastrointestinal diseases such as cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. Additionally, we investigate advanced strategies, including active targeting and stimulus-responsive release mechanisms, to enhance spatial precision. Despite promising preclinical advancements, clinical translation encounters challenges related to long-term biocompatibility, scalable manufacturing, regulatory pathways for drug-device combinations, and cost-effectiveness. Ultimately, the convergence of bioengineering and endoscopy presents significant potential to usher in a new era of precise, localized, and sustained micro-invasive treatments in gastroenterology. Full article

The process of wound healing is intricate and regulated by a network of cellular, molecular, and biochemical pathways. Acute wounds progress via distinct phases of hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. Chronic wounds frequently cease to heal and exhibit resistance to conventional therapies. These types of injuries are frequently attributed to diabetes, infection, or senescence. Existing therapies are constrained due to their ineffectiveness against bacteria, inability to promote regeneration, and inadequate control over medication release. Nanotechnology presents novel methods to overcome these challenges by providing multifunctional platforms that enable biological repair and medicinal delivery. Nanoparticles, which combat germs and modulate the immune system, in addition to being intelligent carriers that react to pH, oxidative stress, or enzymatic activity, provide targeted and adaptive wound therapy. Nanocomposite hydrogels are particularly advantageous as biointeractive dressings due to their ability to maintain wound moisture while facilitating regulated drug delivery. Recent advancements indicate their potential to aid in tissue regeneration, enhance therapy precision, and address issues related to safety and translation. Nanotechnology-based approaches, especially smart hydrogels, give significant promise to transform the future of wound care due to their flexibility, adaptability, and efficiency. Full article

Functionalized hydrogels represent an emerging class of smart materials being explored for advancing next-generation wearable technologies, owing to their flexibility, biocompatibility, stimuli-responsiveness, and tunable properties. This review provides an overview of recent developments in hydrogel-based wearables, highlighting their potential to enhance adaptive, multifunctional, and environmentally sustainable devices and textiles. It begins by examining progress in wearable sensors, energy storage and harvesting, biosignal monitoring, and smart textiles, as well as the associated challenges, including limited battery life, inadequate skin adhesion, user discomfort, and constrained functionality. The review further explores the synthesis, fabrication techniques, properties, and types of hydrogels tailored for wearable technologies, followed by a detailed discussion of their applications in smart batteries, supercapacitors, sensors, nanogenerators, fabrics and hybrid systems. It also highlights integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve designs; enhance performance through real-time monitoring, data analytics, and user interaction; and expand functionality. Also, it analyzes key limitations of current hydrogels—particularly in energy density, dehydration resistance, fatigue behaviour, and large-scale reproducibility—and outlines strategies based on hierarchical material design, sustainable and biodegradable formulations, and standardized testing and regulatory alignment. The review concludes by affirming the role of hydrogel-based technologies in shaping the future of wearable innovations across healthcare, lifestyle, and beyond and outlines promising research directions. Full article

Hydrogel additive manufacturing underpins soft tissue models, biointerfaces, and soft robotics. The coupled choices of formulation, rheology, and process conditions limit the progress. This review maps how artificial intelligence links composition to printability across direct ink writing, inkjet, vat photopolymerization, and laser-induced forward transfer, and how vision-guided control improves fidelity and viability during printing. Interpretable predictors connect routine rheology to strand stability, data-driven classifiers chart droplet regimes, and optical dose models with learning enhance voxel accuracy. Polymer informatics, including BigSMILES based representations, supports generative screening of precursors and crosslinkers. Bayesian optimization and active learning reduce experimental burden while honoring biological constraints, and emerging autonomous platforms integrate in situ sensing with rapid iteration. A strategic framework outlines a technological progression from current open-loop data gathering toward real-time closed-loop correction and ultimately predictive fault prevention through digital twins. The synthesis provides quantitative routes from formulation through process to function, establishing a practical foundation for predictive, reproducible hydrogel manufacturing and application-oriented design. Full article

Smart nucleic acid hydrogels (SNAHs), endowed with stimulus responsiveness, function as programmable molecular switches that can perceive diverse external stimuli and undergo rapid, reversible, and highly specific conformational or performance changes. These dynamic properties have enabled the rational design of biosensors with bionic behaviors, facilitating cascaded “recognition–decision–execution” processes that support advanced biological analysis. Consequently, SNAHs are recognized as a core breakthrough for the next generation of intelligent biosensing units. However, a systematic mapping between SNAH design strategies, specific stimuli, and application fields remains lacking. This review mainly analyzes advances in SNAH-based biosensors over the past five years, proposing flexible and feasible design strategies and key trends in customization. Firstly, we systematically summarize molecular recognition modules involved in the construction of SNAHs, including aptamers, DNAzymes, antibodies, and specific binding peptides. Subsequently, we elaborate on the responses of these modules to external stimuli, so as to further facilitate the signal transduction of signals derived from physical, chemical, and biological sources involving temperature, light, magnetic fields, pH, nucleic acids, proteins, other biomolecules, and pathogens. Additionally, the review outlines the research progress of SNAHs in environmental monitoring, food safety, and medical diagnostics. Finally, we provide an integrated perspective on future opportunities and challenges, highlighting the innovative framework for designing SNAH-based biosensors and offering a practical roadmap for next-generation intelligent sensing applications. Full article

Diabetic wounds remain a major clinical challenge due to impaired angiogenesis, chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and persistent infection, all of which delay tissue repair. Conventional dressings provide only passive protection and fail to modulate the wound microenvironment effectively. Chitosan (CS) is a naturally derived polysaccharide inspired by biological structures in crustaceans and fungi. It has emerged as a multifunctional biomimetic polymer with excellent biocompatibility, antimicrobial activity, and hemostatic properties. Recent advances in biomimetic materials science have enabled the development of stimuli-responsive CS hydrogels. These systems can sense physiological cues such as pH, temperature, glucose level, light, and reactive oxygen species (ROS). These smart systems emulate natural wound healing mechanisms and adapt to environmental changes. They release bioactive agents on demand and promote tissue homeostasis through controlled angiogenesis and collagen remodeling. This review discusses the biomimetic design rationale, crosslinking mechanism, and emerging strategies underlying single and dual-responsive hydrogel systems. It further emphasizes how nature-inspired structural and functional designs accelerate diabetic wound repair and outlines the current challenges and future prospects for translating these bioinspired intelligent hydrogels into clinical wound care applications. Full article

Dural tear (DT) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage, though uncommon complications, represent a potentially serious risk of anterior cervical spine surgery, particularly in patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). While the incidence in routine anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) or corpectomy (ACCF) is typically below 0.5%, it rises sharply to 4–32% in OPLL cases. Furthermore, it exceeds 60% when dural ossification (DO) is present. Adhesion and ossification obliterate the normal epidural plane, creating a fragile osteofibrotic interface that is highly susceptible to tearing during decompression. This review synthesizes current evidence on the pathophysiology of DT and CSF leakage in anterior cervical spine surgery, provides a framework for risk stratification, and outlines evolving techniques for successful repair and management. Intraoperative management has shifted from direct resection toward dura-preserving floating decompression and biologically reinforced multilayer repair using fascia, collagen matrix, fibrin adhesives, and polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogel sealants. Postoperative care emphasizes controlled CSF pressure regulation, sterile wound management, and early ambulation. Most DTs achieve successful closure with timely recognition and standardized treatment. However, persistent leakage may require escalation to composite reconstruction, epidural blood patch, or vascularized flap reinforcement. Emerging technologies such as bioactive hydrogels, 3D-printed dural scaffolds, and artificial intelligence–assisted imaging offer potential future improvements, although clinical adoption remains limited. This review summarizes current evidence on the mechanisms, risk factors, diagnostic predictors, repair strategies, and postoperative management of DT and CSF leakage, with specific attention to OPLL-related DO. A more apparent distinction between established clinical practice and emerging investigational technologies is provided to guide evidence-based decision-making. Full article