Cellulosic-Based Conductive Hydrogels for Electro-Active Tissues: A Review Summary

Abstract

The use of hydrogel in tissue engineering is not entirely new. In the last six decades, researchers have used hydrogel to develop artificial organs and tissue for the diagnosis of real-life problems and research purposes. Trial and error dominated the first forty years of tissue generation. Nowadays, biomaterials research is constantly progressing in the direction of new materials with expanded capabilities to better meet the current needs. Knowing the biological phenomenon at the interaction among materials and the human body has promoted the development of smart bio-inert and bio-active polymeric materials or devices as a result of vigorous and consistent research. Hydrogels can be tailored to contain properties such as softness, porosity, adequate strength, biodegradability, and a suitable surface for adhesion; they are ideal for use as a scaffold to provide support for cellular attachment and control tissue shapes. Perhaps electrical conductivity in hydrogel polymers promotes the interaction of electrical signals among artificial neurons and simulates the physiological microenvironment of electro-active tissues. This paper presents a review of the current state-of-the-art related to the complete process of conductive hydrogel manufacturing for tissue engineering from cellulosic materials. The essential properties required by hydrogel for electro-active-tissue regeneration are explored after a short overview of hydrogel classification and manufacturing methods. To prepare hydrogel from cellulose, the base material, cellulose, is first synthesized from plant fibers or generated from bacteria, fungi, or animals. The natural chemistry of cellulose and its derivatives in the fabrication of hydrogels is briefly discussed. Thereafter, the current scenario and latest developments of cellulose-based conductive hydrogels for tissue engineering are reviewed with an illustration from the literature. Finally, the pro and cons of conductive hydrogels for tissue engineering are indicated.

Advances in Cellulose-Based Hydrogels for Biomedical Engineering: A Review Summary

“…Up to now, cellulose has already been extracted from readily available natural resources (such as bacteria, bamboo, jute, algae, biofilm, wood, cotton, hemp, and other plant-based materials), and is the most abundant natural macromolecular compound in the world. Five thousand to fifteen thousand glucose molecules with the molecular formula (C 6 H 10 O 5 ) n are covalently bonded together through C1 of the glucose ring and C4 of the adjacent ring ( Figure 2 a) [ 10 , 42 ], covalently bonded together by the acetal oxygen to form D-glucose with β-1,4 glycosidic bond [ 43 , 44 ]. The structure and size of natural cellulose are different in various sources, and the structural form of cellulose nanomaterials depends on processing technology.…”

“…With the rapid development of the Internet of Things and the increasing demand for human-machine interfaces, flexible ionic conductors have attracted extensive attention due to their characteristics of high elasticity, transparency, adjustable mechanical properties, and consistent electrical conductivity. Cellulose-based conductive hydrogels for tissue engineering are constantly progressing [ 10 ]. Recently, conductive hydrogels showed great prospects for extensive and important applications in the field of sustainable energy such as sensors, batteries, and flexible electronic devices [ 129 ] because of their unique characteristics of sufficient flexibility, durability, and versatility.…”

“…Hydrogels are ductile and extremely porous polymers with a three-dimensional network structure, which was first produced by Wicherle and Lim in 1960 [ 3 ]. Over time, the research of hydrogels has developed for biomedical applications [ 4 ], including wound dressings [ 5 , 6 ], anti-tumor immunotherapy [ 7 , 8 ], anti-central nervous system disorders [ 9 ], tissue-engineering [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ], smart drug-delivery systems [ 7 , 15 , 16 ], and contraception [ 15 ], due to their good biocompatibility, excellent physical and mechanical properties, and long-term implant stability.…”

Influence of Gel Stage from Cellulose Dissolution in NaOH-Water System on the Performances of Cellulose Allomorphs-Based Hydrogels

“…It has been observed that the transition process from CI to CII is accompanied by modifications of the intensities corresponding to different crystallographic planes. The diffraction peaks characteristic of CI are presented in Figure 4a and appear at Bragg angles (2θ) of 14.6°, 16.2°, and 22.5°, which are typical for the crystallographic planes, (110), (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10), and (200), respectively. In the case of the CII, three characteristic cellulose lattice planes were identified in the XRD diffraction pattern (Figure 4b), and these appear at 12.1° assigned to the (110) plane, at 20.1° for the (1-10) plane, and at 21.8° for (200) plane, respectively.…”

Electrospun Core (HPMC–Acetaminophen)–Shell (PVP–Sucralose) Nanohybrids for Rapid Drug Delivery

“…Cellulose, as one of the most abundant natural resources, has been exploited in the field of drug delivery for many years [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Particularly, it has a wide variety of derivatives, which have different chemical and physical properties for different drug controlled-release performances [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ].…”