Issue 10, 2023

Designing self-healing hydrogels for biomedical applications

Abstract

Self-healing hydrogels have emerged as the most promising alternatives to conventional brittle hydrogels used in the biomedical field due to the features of long-term stability and durability. However, the incompatibility between the fast self-healing property and enough mechanical strength of hydrogels remains a challenge. Therefore, hydrogels that possess not only mechanical toughness but also autonomous self-healing capacity are sought after. This review presents a comprehensive summary of the latest self-healing mechanisms. Specifically, we review various systems based on dynamic bonds, ranging from dynamic covalent bonds to non-covalent bonds. Additionally, this review presents different characterization methods for self-healing hydrogels, and also highlights their potential applications in the biomedical field, such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, cell therapy, and wound dressing. Furthermore, this review aims to provide valuable guidance for constructing diverse self-healing hydrogels with tailored functions.

Graphical abstract: Designing self-healing hydrogels for biomedical applications

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
10 iyn 2023
Accepted
31 iyl 2023
First published
02 avq 2023

Mater. Horiz., 2023,10, 3929-3947

Designing self-healing hydrogels for biomedical applications

X. Ding, L. Fan, L. Wang, M. Zhou, Y. Wang and Y. Zhao, Mater. Horiz., 2023, 10, 3929 DOI: 10.1039/D3MH00891F

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