Smart Hydrogel Systems for Skin Fibrosis: Rational Design, Mechanisms, and Therapeutic Applications
Ranyu Sun, Zhaojian Wang, Xiao Long · Oxford University Press (OUP) · 2026
This review discusses the design and therapeutic potential of smart hydrogels for treating skin fibrosis.
Plain English summary
Why this matters
Key findings
- Smart hydrogels can sense and respond to changes in the fibrotic microenvironment.
- They enable controlled delivery of therapeutic agents.
- Incorporation of bioactive molecules and nanomaterials enhances their effectiveness.
- Current challenges in clinical translation are discussed.
- Future perspectives for safer and more effective therapies are outlined.
What's new
The review emphasizes the unique capabilities of smart hydrogels to adapt to pathological changes, distinguishing them from conventional scaffolds.
Limitations
The abstract mentions challenges in clinical translation but does not provide specific details on these challenges or the extent of current limitations.
Commercial context
The abstract does not provide information on the commercial status of the technologies discussed.
Publication
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Publication date
- July 31, 2026
- Research type
- Paper
- License
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Tags
More on Hydrogels
See all →Smart hydrogel bioinks integrated with two-dimensional nanomaterials for cardiovascular bioprinting and atherosclerosis modeling
This review highlights the potential of smart hydrogel bioinks integrated with nanomaterials for improving cardiovascular disease modeling and bioprinting.
Multifunctional Hydrogel-Based Scaffolds: Integrating Conductive Nanomaterials for Smart Wound Healing Applications
This review highlights the potential of multifunctional hydrogel scaffolds integrated with conductive materials for advanced wound healing solutions.
Smart hydrogel dressings for advanced wound healing: from biomaterial design to microenvironment modulation
Smart hydrogel dressings are designed to enhance wound healing by modulating the microenvironment and promoting tissue regeneration.
Smart Hydrogel Architectures for Sensors: Narrative Review
This review highlights advances in hydrogel sensors for real-time monitoring in healthcare applications.
From Smart Hydrogel Design to 4D-Printed Scaffolds: Emerging Paradigms in Precision Drug Delivery and Regenerative Wound Therapy
This review explores the design and application of smart hydrogels and 4D-printed scaffolds for drug delivery and wound healing.
Cutting-Edge Smart Hydrogel Platforms for Improved Wound Healing
Smart hydrogels enhance wound healing by responding to stimuli and integrating therapeutic agents, though challenges in scalability and regulation remain.
Recently published
Latest research →Reactive polar mesogenic self-assembly approach enables domain-programmable polymer ferroelectrics
This research introduces a method for creating flexible ferroelectric polymers with programmable polar architectures for advanced electronic applications.
A modular block-based acoustic metamaterial absorber with coiled cavities for enhanced sound absorption
This research presents a modular acoustic metamaterial with tunable sound absorption capabilities for low-frequency applications.
A Comprehensive Study on the Development of Stimuli-Responsive Smart Polymer Systems for Controlled Drug Delivery
This study highlights the potential of multi-stimulus responsive smart polymers for enhanced drug delivery systems.
Bio-inspired re-entrant honeycomb metamaterial with programmable dual-plateau mechanical response
A bio-inspired re-entrant honeycomb mechanical metamaterial is described as having a programmable dual-plateau mechanical response.
