Artificial intelligence-assisted design of Chinese herbal medicine based hydrogels

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) and the increasing demand for the modernization of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) have created new opportunities for intelligent biomaterials. This article systematically reviews the latest progress, key challenges, and future directions of AI technology in the intelligent design and development application of natural compounds in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). It highlights limitations in achieving precise control and targeted delivery in TCM formulations and discusses the advantages of hydrogels as bioactive carriers. The methods based on AI for decoding complex TCM systems, identifying active components, and predicting therapeutic targets were studied. Meanwhile, the progress in the rational design, performance prediction, and release optimization of TCM compound (TCMC) hydrogels was also discussed. A four-dimensional collaborative design framework integrating disease target prediction, TCMC screening, hydrogel formulation optimization, and active learning of AI was proposed, and its applications in tumor treatment, wound healing, and tissue engineering were discussed. Key challenges, including data quality, model interpretability, and the lack of closed-loop technical systems, are critically evaluated. Future directions such as physics-informed AI and multimodal large models are outlined. This review provides a conceptual and technical foundation for deeper integration of TCM with modern AI and biomaterials science to support the development of precision TCM therapies.