Advances in Bioadhesive Hydrogels for Musculoskeletal Tissue Application

Abstract

The musculoskeletal system, which is responsible for weight‐bearing, movement, and organ protection, faces many disorders arising from injuries, diseases, and trauma that affect millions of people worldwide, resulting in a decreased quality of life and socioeconomic burden. Tissue engineering is at the forefront of current research on tissue regeneration and demonstrates great potential for musculoskeletal tissue repair. Among the numerous grafts available, adhesive hydrogels have demonstrated potential for tissue applications. Despite the surge in the development of bioadhesive hydrogel formulations in recent years, the absence of an evaluation protocol for their formulation has led to the emergence of numerous similar products that do not fully meet the clinical requirements for applicability in musculoskeletal tissue regeneration. This review aims to address this gap by first discussing the design considerations for an ideal bioadhesive hydrogel relevant to successful musculoskeletal tissue repair. By thoroughly reviewing recent research advances in bioadhesive hydrogels, with a particular focus on their applications in facilitating musculoskeletal tissue repair, improvements are proposed in the current evaluation criteria for the development of novel bioadhesive hydrogels for musculoskeletal tissue applications, and several key challenges and research directions for their implementation are summarized.