Advances and Progress in Self-Healing Hydrogel and Its Application in Regenerative Medicine

Zhu, Wei; Zhang, Jinyi; Wei, Zhanqi; Zhang, Baozhong; Weng, Xisheng

doi:10.3390/ma16031215

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Advances and Progress in Self-Healing Hydrogel and Its Application in Regenerative Medicine

by

Wei Zhu

^1,†,

Jinyi Zhang

^2,†,

Zhanqi Wei

²

,

Baozhong Zhang

^1,* and

Xisheng Weng

^1,*

¹

Department of Orthopaedics, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China

²

School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this article.

Materials 2023, 16(3), 1215; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16031215

Submission received: 15 June 2022 / Revised: 19 December 2022 / Accepted: 5 January 2023 / Published: 31 January 2023

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Self-Healing Materials)

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Abstract

A hydrogel is a three-dimensional structure that holds plenty of water, but brittleness largely limits its application. Self-healing hydrogels, a new type of hydrogel that can be repaired by itself after external damage, have exhibited better fatigue resistance, reusability, hydrophilicity, and responsiveness to environmental stimuli. The past decade has seen rapid progress in self-healing hydrogels. Self-healing hydrogels can automatically self-repair after external damage. Different strategies have been proposed, including dynamic covalent bonds and reversible noncovalent interactions. Compared to traditional hydrogels, self-healing gels have better durability, responsiveness, and plasticity. These features allow the hydrogel to survive in harsh environments or even to be injected as a drug carrier. Here, we summarize the common strategies for designing self-healing hydrogels and their potential applications in clinical practice.

Keywords: self-healing hydrogels; regenerative medicine; biomaterials

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MDPI and ACS Style

Zhu, W.; Zhang, J.; Wei, Z.; Zhang, B.; Weng, X. Advances and Progress in Self-Healing Hydrogel and Its Application in Regenerative Medicine. Materials 2023, 16, 1215. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16031215

AMA Style

Zhu W, Zhang J, Wei Z, Zhang B, Weng X. Advances and Progress in Self-Healing Hydrogel and Its Application in Regenerative Medicine. Materials. 2023; 16(3):1215. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16031215

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhu, Wei, Jinyi Zhang, Zhanqi Wei, Baozhong Zhang, and Xisheng Weng. 2023. "Advances and Progress in Self-Healing Hydrogel and Its Application in Regenerative Medicine" Materials 16, no. 3: 1215. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16031215

APA Style

Zhu, W., Zhang, J., Wei, Z., Zhang, B., & Weng, X. (2023). Advances and Progress in Self-Healing Hydrogel and Its Application in Regenerative Medicine. Materials, 16(3), 1215. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16031215

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Advances and Progress in Self-Healing Hydrogel and Its Application in Regenerative Medicine

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