Potential Applications of Advanced Nano/Hydrogels in Biomedicine: Static, Dynamic, Multi‐Stage, and Bioinspired

Abstract

Novel advanced hydrogels can provide a versatile platform for controlled delivery and release of various cargos, with a myriad of biomedical applications. These gel-based nanostructures possess good biocompatibility, biodegradability, flexibility, multifunctionality, can respond to internal or external stimuli, and can adapt to their surrounding environment. This new generation of hydrogels is not only capable of serving as targeted drug delivery vehicles, but they can also perform a variety of tasks within living cells and organisms. In this review, advanced hydrogels are classified as static, dynamic, multistage, or bioinspired. They can be used as cell-free gene expression platforms for gene therapy. Administration of nanogel-based sprays can act as an immunovaccine priming macrophages toward the M1 phenotype to avoid cancer recurrence following surgery. Nanogels can also serve as a dual biosensing and capture platform for liquid biopsies, and can recognize and remove circulating cancer cells from the blood of cancer patients.

Self‐Assembling Peptide‐Based Hydrogels for Wound Tissue Repair

“…These functions include: i) Scavenging overexpressed inflammatory chemokines; [ 21b ] ii) modulating macrophage polarization (from M1 to M2); [ 149 ] and iii) releasing bioactive components such as cytokines, growth factors, and genes. [ 24b ] However, the research and application of peptide‐based self‐assembling hydrogels that participate in the immune regulation of wounds are lacking, and the ability of these materials to provide spatiotemporal control over immune response requires further exploration.…”

Challenges and opportunities of silk protein hydrogels in biomedical applications

“…In general, a hydrogel material must be characterized before application to determine its basic characteristics, mainly microstructure and morphology, 89 porosity, 90 water content, 91 swelling properties, 92 rheological behavior and mechanical properties, 93 biocompatibility 94 and biodegradability. 95 In applications using silk protein hydrogels, whether these basic properties change or the degree of change is an important factor that needs to be considered.…”

Advanced Bioresponsive Multitasking Hydrogels in the New Era of Biomedicine

“…Moreover, the hydrogel formation and the covalent attachment of the bioreceptor can be carried out simultaneously. [11,15,27] For example, a phosphorylcholine-based hydrogel was employed for hydrogel formation and simultaneous covalent immobilization of thiolated nucleic acids or antibodies using a UV-induced thiolacrylate coupling reaction to construct a functional proteinbased hydrogel array. As proof of concept, this platform was used for the detection of human C-reactive protein, in both labeled and nonlabeled assay formats, with sensitivity of 30 ng mL −1 and 2 pg mL −1 , respectively.…”