Since “click” chemistry was first reported
in 2001,
it has remained a popular research topic in the field of chemistry
due to its high yield without byproducts, fast reaction rate, simple
reaction, and biocompatibility. It has achieved good applications
in various fields, especially for the preparation of hydrogels. The
development of biomedicine presents new challenges and opportunities
for hydrogels, and “click” chemistry provides a library
of chemical tools for the preparation of various innovative hydrogels,
including cell culture, 3D bioprinting, and drug release. This article
summarizes several common “click” reactions, including
copper-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition reactions, strain-promoted
azide–alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) reaction, thiol–ene
reaction, the Diels–Alder reaction, and the inverse electron
demand Diels–Alder (IEDDA) reaction. We introduce the “click”
reaction in the nucleic acid field to expand the concept of “click”
chemistry. This article focuses on the application of “click”
chemistry for preparing various types of biomedical hydrogels and
highlights the advantages of “click” reactions for cross-linking
to obtain hydrogels. This review also discusses applications of “click”
chemistry outside the field of hydrogels, such as drug synthesis,
targeted delivery, and surface modification, hydrogels have great
application potential in these fields in the future and hopefully
inspire other applications of hydrogels.