Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 23, 2026

Controlled Strain of 3D Hydrogels under Live Microscopy Imaging
Published on: December 4, 2020
Hydrogel platforms for engineered live biotherapeutics: materials, microbial integration and clinical potential
Emma Liane Etter1,2, Sarah Thormann3, Srilekha Venkatraman1,2
1Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill NC 27599 USA julianen@email.unc.edu eletter@live.unc.edu svenka@unc.edu spotluru@email.unc.edu.
Abstract:
Engineered living materials (ELMs), which integrate live microorganisms into biocompatible matrices, are emerging as powerful platforms for therapeutic applications. Among these, hydrogels encapsulating engineered live biotherapeutic products (eLBPs) offer enhanced microbial stability, targeted delivery, and functional versatility for treating human disease. By protecting microbes from environmental stress and immune clearance while supporting nutrient diffusion and activity, hydrogel systems address key challenges in microbial therapeutic delivery. This review highlights recent advances in hydrogel-based delivery of eLBPs, focusing on material design, microbial engineering, and performance metrics critical for clinical translation. We provide a framework for designing next-generation living materials for human health, emphasizing opportunities and challenges in bringing these systems from bench to bedside.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
What is Genetic Engineering?
Microbial Morphologies
Microbial Fermentation
Potential Energy
Chemical bonds that form attractive forces between atoms also contain potential energy, called chemical energy. When a chemical reaction...
Members Made of Elastoplastic Material
As the bending moment...
Genetic Material

