Hydrogels: current biomedical applications and future directions
5 affiliations
- 1School of Preclinical Medicine of Chengdu University, Chengdu University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610106, China
- 2Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Chongqing Municipal Health Commission Key Laboratory of Musculoskeletal Regeneration and Translational Medicine/Orthopaedic, Chongqing, 400010, China
- 3Clinical Medical College and Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University, Chengdu University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610081, China
- 4Clinical Medical College and Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University, Chengdu University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610081, China. [email protected]
- 5Department of Biotherapy, Cancer Center and State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No.17, Section 3, Renmin South Road, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China. [email protected]
Abstract
Hydrogels are highly hydrated three-dimensional polymeric network materials that have attracted considerable attention in medical and biomedical fields owing to their favorable chemical modifiability, physical tunability, biocompatibility, and capacity to mimic key features of native extracellular matrices. With advances in polymer chemistry, crosslinking strategies, stimuli-responsive design, and emerging fabrication technologies, hydrogels have evolved from simple soft materials into multifunctional biomedical systems capable of integrating controlled delivery, tissue support, microenvironmental regulation, biosensing, and disease modeling. These properties make hydrogels particularly relevant for addressing a broad spectrum of human diseases in which conventional therapeutic strategies are often limited by insufficient targeting efficiency, limited therapeutic windows, pronounced systemic side effects, and inadequate restoration of damaged tissue structure and function. In this review, we systematically summarize the design principles and material engineering strategies of hydrogels, including structural construction approaches and functional regulation concepts. We then provide a comprehensive overview of their current biomedical applications, encompassing drug delivery systems, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, biosensing and diagnostic platforms, as well as cell culture and organoid systems. Building on this foundation, we place particular emphasis on recent progress in hydrogel-based therapeutic strategies across diverse human disease contexts, including wound healing, musculoskeletal system repair, cancer, neurological diseases, cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune disorders, and reproductive system diseases. Finally, we discuss the developmental potential of hydrogels in biomedicine and present an integrated perspective on their clinical translation prospects, with the aim of offering references and insights for the further application of hydrogel materials in future human disease treatment.
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BibTeX
@article{wu2026hydrogels,
title = {{Hydrogels: current biomedical applications and future directions}},
author = {Haoming Wu and Guanghao Piao and Qiuqi Chen and Wuzheng Luo and Jiayu Liu and YiXuan Lan and Yuling Wang and Jixin Zhou and Kaiwen Yang and Jingjin Xiao and Qingyu Lv and Shuhao Yang and Wanyue Feng and Gaohui Zhu and Shuai Tan and Xulin Hu},
journal = {Molecular Biomedicine},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1186/s43556-026-00525-1},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s43556-026-00525-1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Hydrogels: current biomedical applications and future directions
AU - Haoming Wu
AU - Guanghao Piao
AU - Qiuqi Chen
AU - Wuzheng Luo
AU - Jiayu Liu
AU - YiXuan Lan
AU - Yuling Wang
AU - Jixin Zhou
AU - Kaiwen Yang
AU - Jingjin Xiao
AU - Qingyu Lv
AU - Shuhao Yang
AU - Wanyue Feng
AU - Gaohui Zhu
AU - Shuai Tan
AU - Xulin Hu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/03
JO - Molecular Biomedicine
DO - 10.1186/s43556-026-00525-1
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s43556-026-00525-1
AB - Hydrogels are highly hydrated three-dimensional polymeric network materials that have attracted considerable attention in medical and biomedical fields owing to their favorable chemical modifiability, physical tunability, biocompatibility, and capacity to mimic key features of native extracellular matrices. With advances in polymer chemistry, crosslinking strategies, stimuli-responsive design, and emerging fabrication technologies, hydrogels have evolved from simple soft materials into multifunctional biomedical systems capable of integrating controlled delivery, tissue support, microenvironmental regulation, biosensing, and disease modeling. These properties make hydrogels particularly relevant for addressing a broad spectrum of human diseases in which conventional therapeutic strategies are often limited by insufficient targeting efficiency, limited therapeutic windows, pronounced systemic side effects, and inadequate restoration of damaged tissue structure and function. In this review, we systematically summarize the design principles and material engineering strategies of hydrogels, including structural construction approaches and functional regulation concepts. We then provide a comprehensive overview of their current biomedical applications, encompassing drug delivery systems, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, biosensing and diagnostic platforms, as well as cell culture and organoid systems. Building on this foundation, we place particular emphasis on recent progress in hydrogel-based therapeutic strategies across diverse human disease contexts, including wound healing, musculoskeletal system repair, cancer, neurological diseases, cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune disorders, and reproductive system diseases. Finally, we discuss the developmental potential of hydrogels in biomedicine and present an integrated perspective on their clinical translation prospects, with the aim of offering references and insights for the further application of hydrogel materials in future human disease treatment.
SN - 2662-8651
ER -