Abstract
Electroconductive hydrogels (EHs) are promising composite biomaterials of hydrogels and conductive electroactive polymers, incorporating bionic physicochemical properties of hydrogels and conductivity, electrochemistry, and electrical stimulation (ES) responsiveness of conductive electroactive polymers. The biomedical domain has increasingly seen EHs’ application to imitating the biological and electrical properties of human tissues, acclaimed as one of the most effective biomaterials. Bone’s complex bioelectrochemical properties and the corresponding stem cell differentiation affected by electrical signal elevate EHs’ application value in repairing and treating bone, cartilage, and skeletal muscle. Noteworthily, the latest orthopedic biological applications require broader information of EHs. Except for presenting the classification and synthesis of EHs, this review recapitulates the advance of EHs application to orthopedics in the past five years and discusses the pertinent development tendency and challenge, aiming to provide a reference for EHs application direction and prospect in orthopedic therapy.
Highlights
Conductive Polymer Hydrogels. π-Conjugated polymers of PANi, poly(phenylene vinylene) (PPv), PPy, polythiophene (PT), poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), and others have witnessed an extensive application in Electroconductive hydrogels (EHs) [12], seen in Figure 1. e delocalized π electrons move freely in their unsaturated main backbone, constructing an electrical pathway for mobile charge carriers [21]. π-Conjugated polymers are easy to synthesize and process, acclaimed as a class of organic materials with unique electrical and optical properties similar to those of inorganic semiconductors and metals
From the perspective of biological applied materials design objectives, EH can be an ideal platform for cell culture, tissue engineering scaffolds, drug/growth factor delivery, and others
In EHs, the combination of conventional biomedical hydrogels and conductive materials can produce a system with a 3D porous structure, high water content, biocompatibility, stable mechanical properties, excellent electrochemical performance, multistimulus response, and other advantages
Summary
E higher corrosion resistance of gold, silver, platinum, and other precious metals in the physiological environment enhances their utilization in EHs [33] Regarding their low bioactivity, dose- and time-dependent cytotoxicity, modification, and compounding are applicable to maintain their homeostasis, enhance their interaction with the biological environment, improve their biocompatibility, and prolong their existence in vivo [34, 35]. Dose- and time-dependent cytotoxicity, modification, and compounding are applicable to maintain their homeostasis, enhance their interaction with the biological environment, improve their biocompatibility, and prolong their existence in vivo [34, 35] Besides their electrical conductivity, these metal nanoparticles present surprising functions and properties, respectively, such as antibacterial property, catalytic, imaging, and drug delivery [36,37,38]. Evidence suggests that AuNPs stimulates primary osteoblast and mesenchymal stem cell differentiation by activating the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/mitogen-
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