Application and progress of temperature-sensitive hydrogels in cartilage injury repair
Articular cartilage injury is an important challenge in the field of orthopedics. Due to its unique characteristics of being vascularless, neuralless, and without lymphoid tissue, as well as the poor proliferation and migration ability of chondrocytes, the self-repair ability of cartilage after inju...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2025.1602303/full |
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| author | Long Yu Long Yu Kunhao She Kunhao She Rui He Rui He Qingyu Xu Qingyu Xu |
| author_facet | Long Yu Long Yu Kunhao She Kunhao She Rui He Rui He Qingyu Xu Qingyu Xu |
| author_sort | Long Yu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Articular cartilage injury is an important challenge in the field of orthopedics. Due to its unique characteristics of being vascularless, neuralless, and without lymphoid tissue, as well as the poor proliferation and migration ability of chondrocytes, the self-repair ability of cartilage after injury is limited. In recent years, with the development of tissue engineering, temperature-sensitive hydrogels, a new type of biomedical material, have unique temperature-responsive phase transition characteristics (such as a phase transition critical point close to the physiological temperature) that enable them to rapidly form a stable three-dimensional porous structure triggered by body temperature after being injected into the joint cavity. The material is injectable, will form a gel in situ, and can construct a dynamic bionic extracellular matrix (ECM) microenvironment. Compared with chemically cross-linked hydrogels, this material can achieve precise spatiotemporal control without introducing exogenous stimuli, significantly reducing the risk of cytotoxicity. Through adjustable mechanical properties, highly efficient loading, and release of bioactive factors, as well as viscoelastic characteristics similar to natural cartilage matrices, it has shown great potential in the repair of articular cartilage injuries. This article reviews the research progress of temperature-sensitive hydrogels in the repair of articular cartilage injuries from aspects such as biological characteristics, mechanism of action, clinical applications, and challenges faced, providing new ideas and possibilities for cartilage injury repair. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b58d3c2acfc947cd9542d3c74e7fe7fc |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2296-4185 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology |
| spelling | doaj-art-b58d3c2acfc947cd9542d3c74e7fe7fc2025-08-20T03:44:35ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology2296-41852025-08-011310.3389/fbioe.2025.16023031602303Application and progress of temperature-sensitive hydrogels in cartilage injury repairLong Yu0Long Yu1Kunhao She2Kunhao She3Rui He4Rui He5Qingyu Xu6Qingyu Xu7Department of Pediatric Surgery, Hong Qi Hospital Affiliated to Mudanjiang Medical University, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, ChinaSurgical Teaching and Research Section, The First Clinical Medical College of Mudanjiang Medical University, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, ChinaDepartment of Pediatric Surgery, Hong Qi Hospital Affiliated to Mudanjiang Medical University, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, ChinaSurgical Teaching and Research Section, The First Clinical Medical College of Mudanjiang Medical University, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, ChinaDepartment of Pediatric Surgery, Hong Qi Hospital Affiliated to Mudanjiang Medical University, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, ChinaSurgical Teaching and Research Section, The First Clinical Medical College of Mudanjiang Medical University, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, ChinaDepartment of Pediatric Surgery, Hong Qi Hospital Affiliated to Mudanjiang Medical University, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, ChinaSurgical Teaching and Research Section, The First Clinical Medical College of Mudanjiang Medical University, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, ChinaArticular cartilage injury is an important challenge in the field of orthopedics. Due to its unique characteristics of being vascularless, neuralless, and without lymphoid tissue, as well as the poor proliferation and migration ability of chondrocytes, the self-repair ability of cartilage after injury is limited. In recent years, with the development of tissue engineering, temperature-sensitive hydrogels, a new type of biomedical material, have unique temperature-responsive phase transition characteristics (such as a phase transition critical point close to the physiological temperature) that enable them to rapidly form a stable three-dimensional porous structure triggered by body temperature after being injected into the joint cavity. The material is injectable, will form a gel in situ, and can construct a dynamic bionic extracellular matrix (ECM) microenvironment. Compared with chemically cross-linked hydrogels, this material can achieve precise spatiotemporal control without introducing exogenous stimuli, significantly reducing the risk of cytotoxicity. Through adjustable mechanical properties, highly efficient loading, and release of bioactive factors, as well as viscoelastic characteristics similar to natural cartilage matrices, it has shown great potential in the repair of articular cartilage injuries. This article reviews the research progress of temperature-sensitive hydrogels in the repair of articular cartilage injuries from aspects such as biological characteristics, mechanism of action, clinical applications, and challenges faced, providing new ideas and possibilities for cartilage injury repair.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2025.1602303/fulltemperature-sensitive hydrogelresponse principlecartilage injuryregenerative medicineclinical application |
| spellingShingle | Long Yu Long Yu Kunhao She Kunhao She Rui He Rui He Qingyu Xu Qingyu Xu Application and progress of temperature-sensitive hydrogels in cartilage injury repair Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology temperature-sensitive hydrogel response principle cartilage injury regenerative medicine clinical application |
| title | Application and progress of temperature-sensitive hydrogels in cartilage injury repair |
| title_full | Application and progress of temperature-sensitive hydrogels in cartilage injury repair |
| title_fullStr | Application and progress of temperature-sensitive hydrogels in cartilage injury repair |
| title_full_unstemmed | Application and progress of temperature-sensitive hydrogels in cartilage injury repair |
| title_short | Application and progress of temperature-sensitive hydrogels in cartilage injury repair |
| title_sort | application and progress of temperature sensitive hydrogels in cartilage injury repair |
| topic | temperature-sensitive hydrogel response principle cartilage injury regenerative medicine clinical application |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2025.1602303/full |
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