Thermo‐Responsive Hydrogels Coupled with Photothermal Agents for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Intelligent hydrogels are materials with abilities to change their chemical nature or physical structure in response to external stimuli showing promising potential in multitudinous applications. Especially, photo‐thermo coupled responsive hydrogels that are prepared by encapsulating photothermal agents into thermo‐responsive hydrogel matrix exhibit more attractive advantages in biomedical applications owing to their spatiotemporal control and precise therapy. This work summarizes the latest progress of the photo‐thermo coupled responsive hydrogel in biomedical applications. Three major elements of the photo‐thermo coupled responsive hydrogel, i.e., thermo‐responsive hydrogel matrix, photothermal agents, and construction methods are introduced. Furthermore, the recent developments of these hydrogels for biomedical applications are described with some selected examples. Finally, the challenges and future perspectives for photo‐thermo coupled responsive hydrogels are outlined.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Novel Photothermal Graphene-Based Hydrogels in Biomedical Applications

“…Among many NIR-responsive biomaterials that have been developed, such as sponges, films, nanofibers, and cotton wool, hydrogel-based dressings are considered as best candidates for tissue regeneration and disease therapies, due to their multifunctional properties. Hydrogels have a three-dimensional (3D) porous structure with unique characteristics such as hydrophilicity, swelling, micro/nanosized pores, softness, and the capability to mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM) [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. Moreover, hydrogels have excellent biocompatibility and good mechanical and degradation properties [ 13 , 14 ].…”

“…To overcome this issue, the functionalization of hydrogels with different nanomaterials can improve specific properties of the materials including thermal, electrical, mechanical, antibacterial, and also biocompatibility. Hydrogels obtained by combining biomaterials with biocompatible PTA can reduce biological toxicity and make them more biocompatible [ 10 , 19 , 20 ].…”

Photothermal hydrogels for infection control and tissue regeneration

“…For example, wound defects may be caused by trauma ( Pan et al, 2022 ), burns ( Contardi et al, 2021 ), or cuts ( Tang et al, 2021 ), whereas fractures are structural damage to bone caused by trauma ( Zhang et al, 2023 ). In addition, tissue defects increase the risk of infection ( Qian et al, 2023 ) because the normal physiological barriers are destroyed when tissue is damaged, enabling the entry of bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens to trigger infections. Owing to the limited regenerative capacity of numerous tissues after external injury, current clinical approaches rely heavily on surgical repair and organ transplantation ( Liu et al, 2021 ).…”