Gels最新文献

In this study, surface-modified bio-based hydrogels derived from crosslinked quaternized chitosan (MQCGs) were developed to treat PFAS-contaminated water. The novelty of this work lies in the surface modification and engineering of the hydrogels to enhance the surface area and positive charge of the hydrogels through sacrificial templating. By blending the chitosan solution with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and then removing PEG via sacrificial templating, microscale channels were created on the surface of the hydrogels. This increased the availability of the hydrogel's positive charges for increased electrostatic interactions with PFAS, achieving >98% PFOS (a long-chain PFAS) adsorption in less than 30 min. Batch adsorption experiments demonstrated that surface-modified quaternized chitosan hydrogels (MQCGs) removed both long- and short-chain PFAS across a pH range of 3 to 12, maintaining their performance over 10 regeneration cycles. The adsorption behavior followed the Freundlich isotherm model and pseudo-second-order kinetics, indicating fast multilayer adsorption on heterogeneous active sites via the combined actions of electrostatic, hydrophobic, and physical interactions. Using PFOS and PFOA as model long-chain PFAS and PFBS and PFHxA as short-chain surrogates, respectively, MQCGs achieved a complete removal of PFOS and PFOA and over a 99.9% removal of PFBS and PFHxA, each at a low concentration of 500 µg/L in water. Moreover, MQCGs exhibited highly efficient removal of PFAS at environmentally relevant concentrations of 20 µg/L in tap water containing MgSO₄ and NaCl as competing electrolytes, demonstrating the potential of MQCGs as a new class of efficient, selective, and regenerable materials for PFAS sequestration.

The reliable integration of high-performance noble metal interfaces with flexible substrates is a key requirement for wearable electronics. However, achieving uniform, mechanically robust and functionally active coatings on fabric surfaces remains highly challenging. This study reports the atomic-layered-deposition (ALD) growth of platinum (Pt) on textile at low temperatures. Through ozone plasma-assisted activation technology, Pt nucleation can be achieved at 100 °C, forming a dense and defect-suppressed Pt layer that substantially increases the surface oxygen functional groups and enhances binding affinity. The resulting Pt layer also significantly enhances the adsorption behavior and sensing performance of Ti₃C₂T_x MXene gel inks on textile. At the atomic scale, the engineered Pt-MXene interface promotes stronger adsorption of MXene sheets and establishes efficient electron/ion transport pathways within the gel network. Ultimately, the conductive textile treated with Pt functionalized layers (MXene/Pt@textile) exhibits significantly enhanced sensing sensitivity and signal stability, enabling precise detection of human motions, pressure, and subtle physiological vibrations. The synergistic effect of ALD Pt layers and MXene gel inks creates a textile platform combining robustness, breathability, and high responsiveness.

Despite the advances in medical therapies for treating myocardial infarction (MI), morbidity and mortality rates remain high. Following MI, increased methylglyoxal (MG) production leads to the accumulation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), which contribute to adverse remodeling and to the deterioration of cardiac function. We previously reported that an injectable collagen type I hydrogel improves the repair and function of mouse hearts post-MI. Notably, we observed that the injected hydrogel was a target for MG-AGE glycation, and that there were less MG-modified proteins in the myocardium. In this study, we further evaluated this protective mechanism by pre-glycating the hydrogels and assessing their therapeutic efficacy for treating MI. In vitro experiments showed that the viability of macrophages was reduced when cultured with the glycated hydrogel in the presence of MG. In vivo, female C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to receive intramyocardial injections of one of three treatments: phosphate-buffered saline, normal collagen hydrogel, or MG-glycated hydrogel. After 28 days, echocardiography was performed to evaluate cardiac function, and hearts were harvested for immunohistochemistry. Our results showed that the MG-glycated hydrogel had a reduced treatment effect (greater scar size, fewer wound-healing macrophages, less viable myocardium and decreased cardiac function) compared to mice that received the normal collagen hydrogel. In summary, this study demonstrates that the ability of the collagen hydrogel to act as a target for glycation and remove MG from the environment contributes to its therapeutic effect in treating the post-MI heart.

Potassium (K⁺) channel blockers are promising anticancer agents but suffer from off-target toxicities. We designed cross-linked poly-2-Hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA)-pectin nanogels (HPN) to deliver two model blockers-dofetilide (Dof) and azimilide (Azi)-and evaluated their physicochemical properties, release behavior, and in vitro anticancer activity. HPN was synthesized by surfactant-assisted aqueous nanogel polymerization and comprehensively characterized (FTIR, DLS, TEM/SEM, XRD, BET). The particles were monodispersed with a mean diameter ~230 nm, compatible with tumor accumulation via the Enhanced Permeability and Retention (EPR) effect, and exhibited a microporous matrix suitable for controlled release. Drug loading was higher for Dof than for Azi, with DL% values of 82.30 ± 3.1% and 17.84 ± 2.9%, respectively. Release kinetics diverged: Azi-HPN followed primarily first-order diffusion with a rapid burst, whereas Dof-HPN showed mixed zero/first-order behavior. Cytotoxicity was assessed in A549 lung cancer and BEAS-2B bronchial epithelial cells. Both free and nano-formulated blockers were selectively toxic to A549 with minimal effects on BEAS-2B. Notably, a hormesis-like pattern (low-dose stimulation/high-dose inhibition in MTT) was evident for free Dof and Azi; encapsulation attenuated this effect for Dof but not for Azi. Co-administration with paclitaxel (Ptx) potentiated Dof-HPN cytotoxicity in A549 but did not enhance Azi-HPN, suggesting mechanism-dependent drug-drug interactions. Overall, HPN provides a biocompatible platform that improves K⁺ blocker delivery.

Vanillin (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde) is widely recognized for its aromatic flavor and established pharmacological properties, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects. While these biological activities underpin its therapeutic potential, recent advances have expanded the application of vanillin into the field of biomaterials. In particular, vanillin's unique chemical structure enables its use as a multifunctional building block for the development of innovative hydrogels with dynamic covalent bonding, injectability, and self-healing capabilities. Vanillin-based hydrogels have demonstrated promising applications in wound healing, drug delivery, tissue engineering, and antimicrobial platforms, combining structural support with intrinsic bioactivity. These hydrogels benefit from vanillin's biocompatibility and functional versatility, enhancing mechanical properties and therapeutic efficacy. This review provides an overview of vanillin's pharmacological effects, with a primary focus on the synthesis, properties, and biomedical applications of vanillin-derived hydrogels. By highlighting recent material innovations and their translational potential, we aim to position vanillin as a valuable natural compound bridging bioactivity and biomaterial science for future clinical and therapeutic advancements.

Temperature-responsive hydrogels are sophisticated stimuli-responsive biomaterials that undergo rapid, reversible sol-gel phase transitions in response to subtle thermal stimuli, most notably around physiological temperature. This inherent thermosensitivity enables non-invasive, precise spatiotemporal control of material properties and bioactive payload release, rendering them highly promising for advanced biomedical applications. This review critically surveys recent advances in the design, synthesis, and translational potential of thermo-responsive hydrogels, emphasizing nanoscale and hybrid architectures optimized for superior tunability and biological performance. Foundational systems remain dominated by poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm), which exhibits a sharp lower critical solution temperature near 32 °C, alongside Pluronic/Poloxamer triblock copolymers and thermosensitive cellulose derivatives. Contemporary developments increasingly exploit biohybrid and nanocomposite strategies that incorporate natural polymers such as chitosan, gelatin, or hyaluronic acid with synthetic thermo-responsive segments, yielding materials with markedly enhanced mechanical robustness, biocompatibility, and physiologically relevant transition behavior. Cross-linking methodologies-encompassing covalent chemical approaches, dynamic physical interactions, and radiation-induced polymerization are rigorously assessed for their effects on network topology, swelling/deswelling kinetics, pore structure, and degradation characteristics. Prominent applications include on-demand drug and gene delivery, injectable in situ gelling systems, three-dimensional matrices for cell encapsulation and organoid culture, tissue engineering scaffolds, self-healing wound dressings, and responsive biosensing platforms. The integration of multi-stimuli orthogonality, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence-guided materials discovery is anticipated to deliver fully programmable, patient-specific hydrogels, establishing them as pivotal enabling technologies in precision and regenerative medicine.

The development of advanced macromolecular systems with tailored structural and functional properties is a key objective in modern materials science, particularly for biomedical applications such as targeted drug delivery. In this study, hydrogel (HG), a polymer-based formulation, was investigated as a functional carrier for the enhanced intradermal and transdermal delivery of propranolol hydrochloride (PRO-HCl), a highly water-soluble model compound, and its potential was compared to other vehicles easily obtained by pharmacists: ointment (OM), liposomal cream (LCR), and microemulsion (ME). The formulations were characterized by their physicochemical and rheological characteristics, and evaluated in vitro and ex vivo using vertical diffusion cells equipped with synthetic membranes, intact porcine skin, and skin pretreated with solid microneedles (MNs). The HG formulation exhibited superior release performance (2396.85 ± 48.18 μg/cm²) and the highest intradermal drug deposition (19.87 ± 4.12 μg/cm²), while its combination with MNs significantly enhanced transdermal permeation (p = 0.0017). In contrast, the synergistic effect of MNs and ME led to a pronounced increase in drug accumulation within the skin (up to 60.3-fold). These findings highlight the crucial role of matrix composition and properties in modulating molecular transport through biological barriers. The study demonstrates that polymeric HGs represent versatile, functional materials with tunable structural and mechanical features, suitable for controlled release and potential systemic delivery applications.

Injectable hydrogels (IHs) have gained considerable interest in biomedical and aesthetic applications due to their minimally invasive delivery, selective localization, and sustained release of bioactive agents. They exhibit flowability during administration and undergo in situ gelation under physiological conditions. These behaviors are influenced by their tunable structural, physical, mechanical, and viscoelastic properties, modulating performance. Rheological parameters, including viscosity (η), storage modulus (G'), loss modulus (G″), and yield stress (τ_y) of IHs with time (t), shear rate (γ·), and frequency (f), explaining their shear thinning, thixotropy, viscoelasticity, and gelatin kinetics, serve as key quantitative indicators of their injectability, self-healing capability, and structural and mechanical stability. The rheological characteristics reflect molecular interactions and crosslinking mechanisms within IH networks, thereby linking formulation to provide overall performance, including injectability, biodegradability, and controlled release. This review summarizes recent advances in IHs for diverse applications, with a primary focus on their rheological properties. It also briefly addresses their composition, intermolecular interactions, and correlated function and performance. The applications discussed include hemostatic and wound dressings, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine scaffolds, drug delivery systems, reconstructive and aesthetic materials, and functional bioinks for 3D printing. Overall, this review demonstrates that rheological characterization provides an essential framework for the rational engineering of next-generation IH systems.

The synthesis and the antiradical activity of composite hydrogels based on arabinogalactan-stabilized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and κ-carrageenan (κCG) were examined. It was found that the reducing and stabilizing properties of arabinogalactan (Ar-Gal) could be used to obtain hybrid composites. The AuNP content of the composites ranged from 0.3 to 7.8%, with an average particle size of 5.3-14.0 nm. The antiradical properties of these nanocomposites were demonstrated for the first time using the activated chemiluminescence method. The combination of the synthesized Ar-Gal-AuNPs composite and the natural gel-forming polysaccharide κCG at different ratios enabled a variety of composite hydrogels with different rheological and structural-mechanical properties to be produced. The effect of the Ar-Gal-AuNPs/κCG ratio and the presence of Ca²⁺ ions on the moisture-retaining ability, swelling properties and elastic modulus of the obtained hydrogels was investigated.

As one of the most widely used synthetic polymer materials globally, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) has exhibited promising application potential, especially in the field of wound dressing. Biomass-derived PVA was successfully developed to address the challenges of non-renewable resource depletion and environmental health risks associated with traditional fossil-derived PVA production. However, a knowledge gap still exists regarding the differences between biomass-derived and fossil-derived PVA in terms of their physicochemical and biocompatible properties for wound dressing. This study demonstrated that biomass-derived PVA not only retained the favorable biosafety of conventional PVA (exhibiting no cytotoxicity across multiple cell lines and no induction of inflammatory factors), but also exhibited superior physicochemical properties essential for wound dressing without adding other chemical reagents. Specifically, the light transmittance of biomass-derived PVA hydrogel (>85%) significantly exceeded that of fossil-derived counterparts, highlighting its advantage for wound dressing. Furthermore, the adhesion force of biomass-derived PVA hydrogel to porcine skin was approximately four times that of fossil-derived PVA hydrogel, and the biomass-derived hydrogel exhibited superior drug-loading capacity and more efficient sustained drug release. These findings strongly validated the benefits and applicability of biomass-derived PVA in wound dressing, especially for addressing complex wounds necessitating both physical defense and drug-based intervention.