Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications

Dynamic Bacterial Growth Modulation in Structurally Distinct and Functionally Tuneable Agarose Hydrogels

The paper shows bacterial growth in agarose hydrogels is mainly affected by gel stiffness, water loss, and electrostatic interactions, not nutrient content.

Development of a Novel Methyl Cellulose Hydrogel with Physiologically-Relevant Controlled Ethanol Release for Cervical Dysplasia Ablation

This paper develops a low-cost methyl cellulose-based ethanol gel for topical treatment of low-grade cervical dysplasia, showing efficacy in vitro and stability under various storage conditions.

Spontaneous Phase Separation Enables Rapid, Polymerization-Free Fabrication of Dissolvable Hydrogels

This paper demonstrates a polymerization-free hydrogel fabrication method using spontaneous phase separation, enabling encapsulation of live cells, antibiotics, and plant seeds.

Engineered Matrices Reveal Sulfation-Mediated Stress Adaptation and Drug-Specific Modulation of Chemotherapeutic Response

This study uses sulfated hydrogels to show that ECM sulfation enhances tumor cell survival and reduces chemotherapeutic efficacy by modulating stress responses and drug efflux.

Hyaluronic Acid-Alginate Hydrazone Crosslinked Hydrogels Support the Generation and Maturation of V2a Interneurons

This study develops a hyaluronic acid-alginate hydrogel modified with ECM-derived peptides to support the generation and maturation of V2a interneurons for CNS tissue repair.

Matrix stiffness and stress relaxation regulate matrix-bound nanovesicle release from alginate hydrogels

This study shows that alginate hydrogel stiffness and stress relaxation rates control the release of matrix-bound nanovesicles (MBVs) over time, offering a method to improve their therapeutic delivery.

Probing Critical Injury Thresholds for Maladaptive Epithelial Injury and Repair Processes with Photoresponsive Bioinspired Synthetic Basement Membrane

This study develops a photoresponsive synthetic basement membrane to investigate injury and repair processes in epithelial cells, finding that critical injury sizes lead to dysregulated re-epithelialization.

Coagulative Granular Hydrogels with an Enzyme Catalyzed Fibrin Network for Endogenous Tissue Regeneration

This paper introduces coagulative granular hydrogels stabilized by enzyme-catalyzed fibrin networks to enhance mechanical integrity and support tissue regeneration.

Filomicelle-Embedded Composite Hydrogels for Localized Gelation within the Anterior Chamber of the Eye

This paper develops a composite hydrogel (C-gel) that enables localized in situ gelation and sustained nanocarrier release in the anterior chamber of the eye, showing 90% polymer retention and over a month of sustained release in mice.

In Situ Photoactivated Hydrogel Adhesive Dressings for Post Colon Polypectomies (PolypCures)

This paper introduces PolypCure, a hydrogel adhesive dressing that rapidly seals and hemostases colon wounds post-polypectomy, showing long-term stability and biocompatibility in an in vivo model.

Nitric Oxide-Releasing Thixotropic Hydrogels as Antibacterial and Hemocompatible Catheter Locks

This paper introduces a nitric oxide-releasing hydrogel catheter lock that prevents bacterial contamination and improves hemocompatibility.

Scale-Specific Viscoelastic Characterization of Hydrogels: Integrated AFM and Finite Element Modeling

This study characterizes hydrogel viscoelasticity at micro- and macro-scales using AFM and finite element modeling, developing a model with <5% error for parameter prediction.

An accessible platform to quantify oxygen diffusion in cell-laden hydrogels and its application to alginate-immobilized pancreatic beta cells

The paper introduces an accessible platform to measure oxygen diffusion in cell-laden hydrogels and applies it to alginate-immobilized pancreatic beta cells, showing reduced diffusion coefficients with higher gel concentration.

Fibrin-containing Hydrogels Regulate Human Astrocyte State and Neuronal Reprogramming

This study shows that fibrin-containing hydrogels influence human astrocyte states and their ability to reprogram into neurons, with 3D-Fibrin promoting neuronal conversion while 3D-FAR induces an inflammatory state that hinders reprogramming.

Thermoresponsive chitosan/silk fibroin/PVA/PVP hydrogel loaded with BDNF promotes functional recovery after stroke

This paper develops a thermoresponsive hydrogel loaded with BDNF to promote functional recovery after stroke in mice by modulating the post-stroke microenvironment.

Melt Electrowritten Scaffold-Reinforced Affibody-Conjugated Hydrogels for Controlled Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 Delivery

This paper develops a hydrogel system that combines mechanical reinforcement with affinity-controlled BMP-2 release to improve bone regeneration in rat models.

Implantable Living Materials Autonomously Deliver Therapeutics from Contained Engineered Bacteria

This paper presents an implantable material platform that contains engineered bacteria to autonomously deliver therapeutics in a mouse model of prosthetic joint infection.

Shaping the mechanical properties of a gelatin hydrogel interface via amination

This study modifies gelatin hydrogels through amination and thiolation to improve mechanical properties of stratified biomaterials for tissue engineering.

Homogeneously crosslinked in situ hydrogel enclosing high-density human-cancer cells promotes vascularized in vivo tumor modeling for immune cell therapy

This paper develops a degradable hydrogel for in vivo tumor modeling that supports vascularization and immune cell therapy testing in mice.

Ionic modulation of interpenetrating network formation, structure and recovery in low-polymeric, supramolecular hyaluronic acid based-hydrogel

This study investigates how different ions affect the formation, structure, and recovery of interpenetrating polymer networks in hyaluronic acid and kappa-carrageenan hydrogels.

PhoCoil: An Injectable and Photodegradable Single-component Recombinant Protein Hydrogel for Localized Therapeutic Cell Delivery

Optimizing Peptide Crosslinks for Cell-Responsive Hydrogels

This paper develops and optimizes peptide crosslinks for hydrogels that are specifically degraded by membrane-type proteases, improving cell behavior compared to existing crosslinks.

Norbornene homopolymerization limits cell spreading in thiol-ene photoclick hydrogels

This study shows that norbornene homopolymerization limits cell spreading in thiol-ene hydrogels, and reducing norbornene density improves hydrogel relaxation and cell morphology.

Fully synthetic hydrogels promote robust crypt formation in intestinal organoids

This study shows that a synthetic hydrogel enables crypt formation in intestinal organoids without exogenous laminin, revealing insights into mechanical and matricellular signaling.

Hydrogel viscoelasticity modulates cell nascent extracellular matrix deposition

This study shows that high-viscosity hydrogels lead to increased nascent extracellular matrix deposition by cells, independent of intracellular contractility.

A Modular Microfluidic System to Generate Gradient Hydrogels with Simple-to-Complex Stiffness Profiles for Mechanobiology

This paper introduces a modular microfluidic system to create stiffness gradient hydrogels with complex profiles, showing their effectiveness in modulating cell behavior.

Basement membrane hydrogels dampen CAR-T cell activation: nanofibrillar cellulose gels as alternative to preserve T cell function in 3D cell cultures.

This study shows that nanofibrillar cellulose hydrogels preserve T cell function better than Matrigel or basement membrane extract in 3D cultures.

Mechanically Tunable DNA Hydrogel Microparticles for 3D Cellular Systems

This paper introduces DNA-based hydrogel microparticles with tunable mechanical properties for 3D cellular systems, showing they can be remodeled by fibroblast spheroids based on their stiffness.

Effect of Photoinitiation Process on Photo-Crosslinking of Gelatin Methacryloyl Hydrogel Networks

This study systematically evaluates how different photoinitiators affect the physicochemical and biological properties of GelMA hydrogels, identifying optimal conditions for various biomedical applications.

Granular hydrogels as brittle yield stress fluids

This paper quantifies the rheological behavior of granular hydrogels using the Kamani-Donley-Rogers model with Brittility, showing they behave as brittle yield stress fluids with complex transient properties.