Hydrogel-based Material Systems Toward Therapeutic Applications

Submission Deadline: 30 November 2024

Guest Editor

Prof. Dr. Qihui Zhou

School of Rehabilitation Sciences and Engineering, University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China.

Research Interest: Biomaterials, hydrogels, nanomedicine, drug delivery system, tissue repair and regeneration, organ function rehabilitation

Summary:

Hydrogels, which are three-dimensional networks of water-absorbing polymers, have aroused great concern in treatment applications owing to their tunable characteristics such as their good biocompatibility and biodegradation, natural extracellular matrix-like structure, tunable mechanical properties, suitable diffusion nature due to their elastic networks, wound exudate absorption, and high cargo-loading efficiency. With their gaining popularity in biomedical applications, many novel and biomimetic structures from 1D to 3D level based on hydrogels (e.g., micro/nanogels, micro/nanofibers, microneedle patch, scaffold) are designed and prepared using advanced micro and nano-fabrication techniques, extending their bioapplication. In addition, due to the flexibility to be designed with stimuli-responsive features, hydrogel-based material systems can be controlled to trigger network assembly/disassembly to release loaded drugs/bio-factors via responding to external stimuli (e.g., temperature, light, magnetic fields, mechanical forces, etc.) and internal physiological conditions, such as glucose, pH, enzymatic activity, and redox. In terms of these merits, hydrogel-based material systems have been widely applied in treating various diseases, tissue repair and regeneration, as well as rehabilitation, laying the foundation for future clinic translations.

Keywords: hydrogels, biomimetic structures, drug release, therapeutic applications, tissue repair, regenerative medicine, rehabilitation