Alginate-Based Hydrogels: Recent Progress in Preparation, Property Tuning, and Multifunctional Applications

Area of Science:

• Materials Science and Biomaterials Engineering
• Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Alginate hydrogels, derived from brown seaweed, are biocompatible and biodegradable materials.
• Their properties are controllable via molecular structure, crosslinking, and modifications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advances in alginate hydrogel design, crosslinking, and modification strategies.
• To explore diverse applications and identify challenges for clinical translation.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of literature on alginate hydrogel design and fabrication.
• Analysis of crosslinking approaches (ionic, covalent, hybrid) and modification strategies (derivatization, blending, nanoparticles).
• Examination of advanced fabrication techniques (3D/4D printing, microfluidics, electrospinning).

Main Results:

• Modifications improve mechanical strength and biological inertness of alginate hydrogels.
• Applications span drug delivery, tissue engineering, wound healing, environmental remediation, food industry, flexible electronics, and soft robotics.
• Preclinical and clinical studies show feasibility, but challenges in degradation, mechanics, standardization, regulation, and scalability persist.

Conclusions:

• Alginate hydrogels are versatile biomaterials with expanding applications.
• Further research is needed to overcome limitations for successful clinical translation and commercialization.