Targeting post-extraction complications with functional hydrogels: Mechanistic insights, translational strategies, and clinical prospects.

Rapidly dissolving microneedle patch embedded with long-acting microspheres for sustained release of goserelin.

ABSTRACT Roads treated with conventional salt‐based anti‐icing agents (AIAs) rapidly release the salt to the road surface, leading to some problems with respect to road surface and infrastructure. Such limitations can be mitigated by using commercial AIAs, but any detailed information about the AIAs themselves is unknown. Furthermore, application of the AIA to pavement anti‐icing coating (PAC) has not been reported in the literature. In this research, a NaCl‐encapsulated by polymethylsiliconate AIA was prepared from NaCl and sodium methylsiliconate via sol–gel synthesis at various conditions, and used in preparing PAC. The optimum NaCl content, reaction temperature, and stirring speed for the preparation of the AIA were found to be 15%, 20°C, and 800 rpm, respectively. The resulting PAC prepared using the AIA exhibited the largely improved anti‐icing performances under various conditions while maintaining other properties including abrasion resistance, mechanical strength, flexibility and durability.

This comprehensive Review examines recent advances in bioactive glasses (BGs) based on the SiO2-CaO-P2O5-SrO system, highlighting the impact of the incorporation of strontium oxide (SrO) on their structural, thermal, and biological properties. By summarizing a wide range of studies, this work establishes how SrO modification influences the glass network connectivity, mechanical strength, and thermal stability, which are critical for high-temperature applications such as sintering and thermal spray coatings. This Review further explores the effects of SrO on in vitro and in vivo performance, focusing on the dissolution behavior, bioactive phase formation, cellular response, and antimicrobial activity. Special attention is given to the substitution and concentration level of SrO and their influence on bone regeneration and biocompatibility. This work offers insights into the design and optimization of Sr-doped BGs to enhance bone tissue engineering applications and lays the groundwork for future in vivo and clinical investigations.

Clean water scarcity represents a significant global challenge, driven by the degradation of surface water resources due to pollution and the impacts of climate change. Atmospheric water harvesting strategies using sorbents offer an available and sustainable solution. Most atmospheric water harvesting studies have focused on hydrogel designs utilizing conventional polymer desiccants derived from fossil fuels. These synthetic polymers are unsustainable and nonbiodegradable, causing negative ecological and public health impacts during degradation, which raises concerns about the direction of eco-friendly material science and technology. Here, biohydrogels (SCG0, SCG3, SCG5, and SCG7) based on chitosan and carboxymethyl cellulose from biomass were synthesized through a simple process. The effect of the cross-linking content on the properties of hydrogels and their water sorption performance were studied through FTIR, TGA, and FESEM analyses, mechanical strength, and water sorption experiments. A SCG5 hydrogel containing 5% w/w glutaraldehyde exhibits the most effective cross-linking formation, leading to superior thermal stability, good compressive strength, and a better water absorption performance compared to the SCG0, SCG3, and SCG7 hydrogels. The SCG5 hydrogel showed strong hydrophilicity when a drop wetted in its surface within 0.26 s. The mass change of SCG5 in water gained 2158% with a maximum sorption rate of 84.7 g g-1 h-1, and the water vapor sorption capacity of SCG5 at 90% RH reached 28.03% with a maximum sorption rate of 0.55 g g-1 h-1. Additionally, it exhibited rapid vapor desorption with a rate of 0.39 g g-1 h-1, releasing over 98% of the absorbed water within 20 min, and remarkable stability after multiple sorption-desorption cycles. Studies on different sorption kinetic models of biohydrogels based on chitosan and carboxymethyl cellulose were carried out, and the experimental data best fitted the Elovich model the most. It means that activated site sorption is the rate-limiting process; the sorption mechanism occurs on a nonuniform surface of biohydrogels or nonconstant active sites.

Contemporary research in food packaging is focused on developing sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based materials. Pullulan, a microbial biopolymer traditionally employed as a food additive, is harnessing interest for food packaging applications due to its exceptional film-forming ability, biodegradability, and nontoxic nature. However, there are key limitations associated with the cost of production and suboptimal physicochemical attributes (e.g., inadequate water barrier and mechanical strength) that curtail the successful industrial translation of pullulan as a packaging polymer. Accordingly, this review examines effective ways for boosting biosynthetic efficiency of pullulan production through genetic and metabolic engineering of native strains and identifies emerging strategies such as targeted chemical modifications, electrospinning, incorporation of bioactive compounds, and film casting to enhance properties of pullulan-based packaging materials. Encapsulation strategies for bioactive substances are emphasized in pullulan-based active packaging for controlled release and sustained efficacy, whereas integration with pH-responsive sensing entities enables smart packaging for real-time freshness monitoring of protein-rich foods. Further, we examined regulatory and safety frameworks, providing a perspective that bridges innovation with compliance requirements for commercial deployment. All in all, this review demonstrates the potential to reduce production costs and improve film properties, which has significantly strengthened the prospects of pullulan as a sustainable, biopolymer-based alternative to synthetic materials.

This study evaluates the impact of replacing natural sand (NS) with quarry waste sand (QWS) or recycled concrete sand (RCS) at varying substitution rates (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%). The analyzed properties include Abrams cone slump, superplasticizer demand (SP), rheological and tribological parameters, mechanical strength, capillary water absorption, and shrinkage. The results show that QWS-based concrete exhibits better workability and requires less superplasticizer, whereas RCS-based concrete necessitates a higher admixture dosage. Both QWS sand and RCS sand significantly enhance the rheological and tribological properties of concrete Moreover, QWS sand provides higher mechanical strength than NS sand, with a strength gain of up to 16% at full replacement (100% QWS sand) at 90 days. Conversely, RCS sand reduces compressive strength by 28.6% at 28 days. and negatively affects porosity and capillary water absorption. However, these negative effects are mitigated when the RCS sand replacement is limited to 25%. QWS sand-based concrete exhibits slower shrinkage and reduced deformability compared to NS sand-based concrete. Predictive strength models were established based on experimental parameters, displaying a high correlation coefficient and a low root mean square error. Replacing NS sand with QWS sand or RCS sand reduced production costs, lowered carbon emissions, minimized waste, and preserved natural resources, offering a sustainable approach for concrete applications.

Small-diameter vascular grafts (SDVGs, <6 mm) exhibit significant potential as alternatives to coronary and peripheral arteries, yet their clinical application is hindered by thrombosis and intimal hyperplasia. A synergistic modification strategy utilizing polydopamine (PDA) and lysine (Lys) was developed to functionalize polyimide (PI) fibers, aiming to enhance the antithrombotic properties and endothelial regeneration capacity of SDVGs. Alkaline etching activates PI fibers and facilitates the formation of PDA-Lys composite coatings through Schiff base and Michael addition reactions. Characterization results demonstrate that the modified fibers exhibit significantly reduced surface roughness and enhanced hydrophilicity, while retaining high mechanical strength and thermal stability. Hemocompatibility assessments reveal that PI-PDA-Lys fibers exhibit a hemolysis rate below 3.4% and an 80% reduction in platelet adhesion relative to unmodified fibers. This performance improvement is attributed to the optimized surface charge balance and reduced surface roughness. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) show high viability, sustained proliferation over 7 days, and enhanced migration toward PI-PDA-Lys scaffolds. This multifaceted surface engineering strategy effectively addresses the critical challenges of thrombosis and delayed endothelialization in SDVGs. The modified PI fibers demonstrate significant potential to serve as a viable platform for the development of advanced small-diameter vascular grafts.

Promoting the regeneration of bacteria-infected damaged tissues by developing multifunctional tough hydrogels with self-healing, adhesive, remodeling, and antimicrobial properties for use as wound dressings remains a great challenge. Inspired by the excellent adhesion ability of natural mussels, hyaluronic acid (HA) was first oxidized to aldehyde hyaluronic acid (AHA), and then grafted with dopamine (DA) to produce a structure with many catechol groups from which dopamine-grafted hyaluronic acid (DAHA) was prepared and combined with acrylamide (AM), poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), and N,N'-methylenebis(acrylamide) (BIS) to prepare a multifunctional hydrogel (PAD hydrogel). The results indicated that the PAD3 hydrogel with a DAHA content of 3 mg/mL and a BIS monomer content of 0.5 mol %, had high mechanical strength (over 10 MPa), which was 27 times greater than that of pure polyacrylamide (PAM) hydrogels. Furthermore, the PAD hydrogel demonstrated strong antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and the ability of it to repair infected skin was further investigated in a rat model of Staphylococcus aureus infection. The PAD series hydrogels showed considerable antimicrobial properties and promoted the regeneration of damaged tissues in vivo, suggesting that it can be used as a multifunctional dressing and holds great promise in healing bacteria-infected skin wounds.

Chitosan (CS)-based hydrogel films have attracted intense and increasing interest for healing burn wounds owing to their strong biocompatibility and hemostatic potential. However, conventional CS hydrogels suffer from poor mechanical strength and structural instability under exudate exposure, limiting their clinical efficacy. Herein, a floccule self-deposition/redissolution strategy is implemented to develop a flexible and transparent CS-based hydrogel film with enhanced hemostasis and wound healing properties. Acetic acid is used to redissolve CS floccules, expanding intermolecular distances to reduce intramolecular hydrogen bonds and expose more bioactive amino groups. Glycerin is incorporated as a plasticizer to enhance the mechanical properties. The as-prepared CS-based hydrogel film exhibits higher mechanical flexibility (~72% elongation at break) in dry conditions and maintains its structural integrity for 24 h in wet environments. It also exhibits a higher hemostatic ability (~122 s) than a traditional unprocessed CS-based hydrogel film (~315 s). A second-degree partial thickness burn wound model confirms that the CS-based hydrogel film can significantly regulate the inflammatory response and accelerate the collagen deposition, thus promoting wound closure and healing. Overall, this study provides a facile approach to prepare CS-based hydrogel films with promising potential as dressings for burn wound healing.

Enzyme-Based GaN MODFET Biosensors Structure Design with Excellent Thermal Stability and Mechanical Strength of ZrO2 as Gate Insulator

Hydrogel-based solar-driven interfacial vapor generation is considered an effective method for freshwater production. However, traditional hydrogel evaporators suffer from weak mechanical strength and the trade-off between high evaporation rates and salt resistance, which limits their practical applications. Inspired by the unique water transport mechanism of natural reed, we construct a cellulose nanofiber-enhanced hydrogel evaporator with a hierarchical gradient pore structure. Microscale surface roughening design in hydrogel emulates leaf stomatal transpiration, enhancing light absorption while maintaining high vapor escape efficiency. Its bottom-to-top gradient pores enable rapid capillary-driven water transport and sustained interfacial supply, achieving efficient thermal-mass balanced evaporation. More importantly, the bilayered gradient hierarchical structure enables directional salt diffusion back to bulk water, effectively preventing salt crystallization. As a result, the hydrogel evaporator achieves an optimal evaporation rate of 2.61 kg m-2 h-1 under 1 sun. In a 20 wt% NaCl solution, a stable evaporation rate can be maintained without salt deposition. Moreover, the hydrogel evaporator is able to remove more than 99% of the primary metal ions from seawater and almost completely remove the dye ions from the dye solution. This work demonstrates a promising application in seawater desalination and dyeing wastewater treatment.

Conductive hydrogels are promising for flexible electronics, yet integrating high conductivity, mechanical robustness, biocompatibility, and environmental stability for flexible supercapacitors (FSCs) and wearable epidermal sensors remains challenging. Herein, a self-healing hydrogel with multiple energy dissipation pathways was constructed using synergistic dynamic borate ester bonds, Schiff base bonds, and hydrogen bonds. Incorporating polydopamine-coated MXene (MP) enhanced the mechanical strength, conductivity, and antibacterial/antioxidant properties. FSCs with the hydrogel electrolyte exhibited excellent electrochemical performance with a specific capacitance of 373.41 mF/cm2, an energy density of 74.67 μWh/cm2, a capacitance retention of 82.43% after 5000 cycles, and high deformation tolerance. As a strain sensor, it effectively detected both large and subtle human motions, including physiological microexpressions and pulse beats due to its high sensitivity (gauge factor = 1.73) and repeatability. Importantly, its notable degradability owing to the inherent degradability of the chitosan framework and the reversible dissociation of dynamic bonds addresses environmental concerns from traditional electronics.

Solar-driven interfacial desalination (SID) offers a sustainable route for freshwater production, yet its long-term performance is compromised by salt crystallization and microbial fouling under complex marine conditions. Zwitterionic polymers offer promising nonfouling capabilities, but current zwitterionic hydrogel-based solar evaporators (HSEs) suffer from inadequate hydration and salt vulnerability. Inspired by the natural marine environmental adaptive characteristics of saltwater fish, we report a superhydrated zwitterionic poly(trimethylamine N-oxide, PTMAO)/polyacrylamide (PAAm)/polypyrrole (PPy) hydrogel (PTAP) with dedicated water channels for efficient, durable, and nonfouling SID. The directly linked N⁺ and O⁻ groups in PTMAO establish a robust hydration shell that facilitates rapid water transport while resisting salt and microbial adhesion. Integrated PAAm and PPy networks enhance mechanical strength and photothermal conversion. PTAP achieves a high evaporation rate of 2.35kgm-2h-1 under 1 kW m-2 in 10 wt% NaCl solution, maintaining stable operation over 100h without salt accumulation. Furthermore, PTAP effectively resists various foulants including proteins, bacterial, and algal adhesion. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the exceptional hydration capacity supports its nonfouling properties. This work advances the development of nonfouling HSEs for sustainable solar desalination in real-world marine environments.

Over the past decade, three-dimensional bioprinting (3DBP) has evolved into a versatile processing tool for engineering tissues. The key component, the bioink, can be composed of many different hydrogel-forming polymers, which are mostly performant in either mechanical or biological properties but seldom both. Carboxylated agarose (CA) was combined here with collagen type 1 to simultaneously satisfy both properties and combine their attributes, without compromising on either; the result is an innovative, hybrid bioink. It can be printed with high accuracy, good layer-to-layer adhesion, and rapid gelation, enabling overhang printing. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fluorescently labeled collagen demonstrated that the two components mixed well, resulting in uniformly distributed collagen fibrils and a double network. From the biological perspective, a bioink must exhibit cell-adhesion moieties to maintain proliferation and metabolism, which we could ensure through the collagen component. Here, we present an example strategy for combining an inert polysaccharide with bioactive collagen, two polymers with opposing gelation conditions, which yields a bioink that possesses beneficial properties from both without compromising the features of either. The interpenetrating structure of both molecules synergistically balances the mechanical strength of CA and the biological functionality of collagen.

The growing accumulation of plastic waste in coastal regions like Pangkajene and Islands Regency has become a pressing environmental concern due to inadequate waste management systems. This study proposes an innovative solution by utilizing post-consumer plastic waste (PET, HDPE, and LDPE) combined with local Pinrang sand to produce lightweight, eco-friendly paving blocks. The experimental method involved melting shredded plastic and blending it with sand in various ratios (1:1, 1:2, 1:3), then molding and testing the compressive strength based on SNI 03-0691-1996 standards. Results showed that the 1:1 composition achieved the highest average compressive strength of 9.84 MPa among plastic-based samples, while conventional blocks reached up to 34.80 MPa. Plastic waste paving blocks met Class D criteria, suitable for light-use pavements, while conventional ones met Class B. Although the mechanical strength of plastic-based blocks was lower, their environmental benefits and lighter weight make them suitable for garden paths and pedestrian areas. This study affirms the potential of integrating plastic waste into construction materials, offering a sustainable and practical response to local waste challenges

Development of 3D-printed chitosan/p-coumaric acid scaffolds for wound healing: antibacterial properties and drug release kinetics.

Functional coatings are crucial for enhancing the performance of paper-based packaging materials. Unlike petroleum-based or conventional biobased coatings, which face environmental or performance limitations, this study presents a high-performance, sustainable paper coating that utilizes industrial byproduct pomegranate peel extract (PPe), KH-560, and oxidized starch (OS). A biobased silane coupling agent (PK) was synthesized via a ring-opening reaction between PPe and KH-560, as confirmed by FT-IR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR analyses. The resulting PK was compounded with OS to create a multifunctional coating (OS&PK). This coating endows paper with exceptional mechanical strength, outstanding barrier properties (against water, vapor, and oil), high thermal stability (>200 °C), and significant antibacterial activity (77% inhibition against S. aureus). Remarkably, the coating can be effectively removed, enabling paper repulping with minimal mechanical strength loss. Thus, this work offers a green, cost-effective coating strategy that combines enhanced performance with repulpability, while promoting the valorization of industrial byproducts.

The extraction of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) from lignocellulosic biomass provides a sustainable alternative to synthetic materials due to their biodegradability, mechanical strength, and environmental compatibility. However, conventional extraction methods are often affected by high chemical consumption, energy intensity, and limited scalability. This study presents a comparative and optimized approach for the sustainable extraction of CNFs using two distinct methods, including chemo-mechanical treatment and Soxhlet extraction, applied to sugarcane bagasse and eucalyptus bark. Unlike previous studies, this work systematically compares both methods under controlled conditions to evaluate their efficiency, fiber integrity, and environmental impact. The extracted CNFs were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and zeta potential analysis. The FTIR spectra confirmed the presence of C–O–C fundamental vibrational stretching of cellulose and effective removal of non-cellulosic components such as lignin and hemicellulose. XRD results displayed the moderate crystalline nature of the extracted cellulose, with variation in intensity attributed to extraction technique and biomass type. Zeta potential analysis showed that CNFs extracted from eucalyptus bark via Soxhlet extraction exhibited superior colloidal stability (−32.5 mV), while those from sugarcane bagasse through chemo-mechanical treatment showed lower stability (−15.3 mV). These findings offer new insights into the method-material interaction and highlight the Soxhlet extraction route as more effective in producing stable, high-purity nanofibers. The protocols can be vital in reducing production costs and chemical utilization, enhancing material performance, and enabling large-scale application in packaging and biomedical industries.

Circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) is of interest for optical encryption and anticounterfeiting applications. However, achieving dual-handed CPL emission from perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) in hydrated chiral liquid crystal systems remains a challenge because of their susceptibility to water-induced degradation and disruption of liquid crystal ordering. These issues limit luminescence efficiency, structural integrity, and chiroptical control. Here, a confinement strategy is presented using polymer-encapsulated perovskite nanofibers, which isolate PNCs from water while supporting the in situ self-assembly of cellulose nanocrystals into a cholesteric photonic framework. The resulting solid-state composite achieves high photoluminescence quantum yield (65.56%), mechanical strength (32.15MPa), and a broad dissymmetry factor range (glum from -0.96 to +0.49) from a single left-handed cholesteric structure. Importantly, by engineering the reflectivity of asymmetric bilayer architectures, the composite exhibits enhanced dual-handed CPL emission depending on the viewing direction. The multimodal optical properties demonstrated here highlight the potential of this system in optical encryption and anticounterfeiting applications.