Photo‐Controllable Smart Hydrogels for Biomedical Application: A Review

Abstract

Nowadays, smart hydrogels are being widely studied by researchers because of their advantages such as simple preparation, stable performance, response to external stimuli, and easy control of response behavior. Photo‐controllable smart hydrogels (PCHs) are a class of responsive hydrogels whose physical and chemical properties can be changed when stimulated by light at specific wavelengths. Since the light source is safe, clean, simple to operate, and easy to control, PCHs have broad application prospects in the biomedical field. Therefore, this review timely summarizes the latest progress in the PCHs field, with an emphasis on the design principles of typical PCHs and their multiple biomedical applications in tissue regeneration, tumor therapy, antibacterial therapy, diseases diagnosis and monitoring, etc. Meanwhile, the challenges and perspectives of widespread practical implementation of PCHs are presented in biomedical applications. This study hopes that PCHs will flourish in the biomedical field and this review will provide useful information for interested researchers.

Self-Adhesive, Anti-Freezing Multifunctional Zwitterionic Hydrogels with Lignin-Promoted Rapid Gelation for Flexible Strain Sensors

“…Conventional poly­(acrylic acid) (PAA) hydrogel preparation typically requires continuous heating or UV irradiation to initiate free radical polymerization. , Furthermore, most traditional PAA hydrogels exhibit suboptimal properties, including poor mechanical properties, susceptibility to freezing at low temperatures, and easy dehydration. , These drawbacks make the conventional PAA hydrogels time-consuming to produce and limit their applicability in fields such as wearable strain sensors. To address these challenges, we designed a self-catalytic system based on lignin and ferric ions (L-Fe 3+ ) for the rapid preparation of multifunctional lignin-Fe (L-Fe) @ H 2 O/EG (HE)-AA/DMAPS hydrogels (L-Fe@HE-AA/DMAPS).…”

Wireless Electric Cues Mediate Autologous DPSC‐Loaded Conductive Hydrogel Microspheres to Engineer the Immuno‐Angiogenic Niche for Homologous Maxillofacial Bone Regeneration

“…BP and GelMA have been demonstrated as functional substances with favorable biocompatibility, which have been safely and broadly applied in biomedical field. [ 32,34,35 ] A microfluidic technology was applied to fabricate the GelMA hydrogel microspheres. To prepare conductive hydrogel microspheres, BP nanosheets are inserted into the hydrogel matrix.…”