Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 6, 2026
3D Bioprinting Phototunable Hydrogels to Study Fibroblast Activation
Published on: June 30, 2023
Functional hydrogels in cardiovascular therapy: Design, applications and clinical challenges (Review)
Zheming Yang1, Jiayin Li1, Lingxiao Zhao2
1State Key Laboratory of Frigid Zone Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Research Institute, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang, Liaoning 110016, P.R. China.
Insights
Hydrogels show promise for treating cardiovascular disease (CVD) by repairing damaged tissue. Future hydrogel designs aim for adaptive, personalized therapies integrated with advanced treatments and medical devices.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Regenerative Therapy
Background:
- Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading global cause of death, with current treatments having limited tissue repair capacity.
- Hydrogels, as 3D biocompatible networks, offer potential for cardiovascular tissue repair and regeneration.
- This review examines functional hydrogels for CVD treatment, covering their preparation, applications, challenges, and future directions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the preparation, applications, challenges, and future perspectives of functional hydrogels for cardiovascular disease (CVD) treatment.
- To highlight the potential of hydrogels as scaffolds and carriers for cell and drug delivery in cardiovascular regenerative medicine.
- To discuss the evolution of hydrogel systems towards advanced, personalized therapeutic strategies for CVD.
Main Methods:
- Review of natural polymers, synthetic polymers, and composite hydrogel systems.
- Analysis of stimuli-responsive hydrogels for on-demand therapeutic delivery.
- Examination of hydrogel applications in myocardial repair, vascular regeneration, heart valve repair, and heart failure management.
Main Results:
- Hydrogels offer diverse properties: natural polymers (biocompatible, weak mechanics), synthetic polymers (tunable, less bioactive), and composites (combined, complex).
- Stimuli-responsive hydrogels enable controlled drug and cell delivery for targeted CVD therapies.
- Hydrogels show potential in myocardial repair, vascular regeneration, heart valve repair, and heart failure management.
Conclusions:
- Hydrogels represent a promising platform for cardiovascular regenerative therapy, offering versatile applications.
- Clinical translation faces challenges including safety, biocompatibility, mechanical/electrical integration, thrombogenicity, manufacturing, and regulatory approval.
- Future hydrogel development will focus on stimuli-responsive, self-regulating, adaptive, and personalized designs, integrating with advanced therapies and medical devices.
Abstract:
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality worldwide, and conventional treatments (such as pharmacotherapy, stents and bypass surgery) have limited capacity to repair damaged cardiovascular tissue. Hydrogels, as biocompatible three‑dimensional network materials, demonstrate potential for the treatment of CVD. The present review summarizes functional hydrogels for CVD treatment, including their preparation, applications, current challenges and future perspectives. Hydrogel materials comprise natural polymers, synthetic polymers and composite systems, each with distinct advantages and limitations: Natural polymers offer good biocompatibility but exhibit poor mechanical strength; synthetic polymers provide tunable properties but lack inherent bioactivity; composites combine the advantages of both but are more complex to manufacture. Stimuli‑responsive hydrogels respond to environmental cues and enable on‑demand therapeutic delivery. In terms of clinical applications, hydrogels have potential for post‑infarction myocardial repair, vascular regeneration, heart valve repair and regeneration and heart failure management. They serve as scaffolds, as well as cell and drug delivery carriers. Nevertheless, hydrogels face challenges in clinical translation, including safety, long‑term biocompatibility, mechanical and electrical compatibility with host tissue, thrombogenicity, large‑scale manufacturing, integration with standard care and regulatory approval. In the future, hydrogel systems are may evolve toward stimuli‑responsive, self‑regulating, adaptive and personalized designs, integrate with emerging therapeutic strategies (such as gene therapy, cell therapy, and RNA‑based therapeutics) and be used in conjunction with existing medical devices (stents, vascular grafts, pacemakers, and ventricular assist devices), thereby becoming an important platform for cardiovascular regenerative therapy.
