Biopolymer-based self-healing hydrogels: A short review

Abstract

Hydrogels as semi-solid materials with highly tunable mechanical properties are promising materials in numerous fields. The emergence of self-healing hydrogels, with the ability to recover their original structure post-fracture, has further expanded their applications in flexible devices, wound healing, and implant materials. Biopolymers have the advantages of biocompatibility, biodegradability, and environmental sustainability, making the self-healing hydrogels from biopolymers more promising materials in biomedical applications. In this paper, we started from the dynamic bonds that used to realize the self-healing properties of biopolymer-based hydrogels, and discussed their advantages and disadvantages. The construction mechanisms, self-healing properties of the hydrogels from different biopolymers were then introduced separately. We also reviewed the their potential applications, and discussed their challenges and prospects.

Keywords

• Self-healing hydrogel
• Biopolymers
• Synthesis strategies