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Updated: Jan 29, 2026

Fragmenting Bulk Hydrogels and Processing into Granular Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications
Published on: May 17, 2022
Recent advances in photo-crosslinkable hydrogels for biomedical applications
Jane Ru Choi1,2, Kar Wey Yong3, Jean Yu Choi4
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2054-6250 Applied Science Lane, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
Abstract:
Photo-crosslinkable hydrogels have recently attracted significant scientific interest. Their properties can be manipulated in a spatiotemporal manner through exposure to light to achieve the desirable functionality for various biomedical applications. This review article discusses the recent advances of the most common photo-crosslinkable hydrogels, including poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate, gelatin methacryloyl and methacrylated hyaluronic acid, for various biomedical applications. We first highlight the advantages of photopolymerization and discuss diverse photosensitive systems used for the synthesis of photo-crosslinkable hydrogels. We then introduce their synthesis methods and review their latest state of development in biomedical applications, including tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, drug delivery, cancer therapies and biosensing. Lastly, the existing challenges and future perspectives of engineering photo-crosslinkable hydrogels for biomedical applications are briefly discussed.
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