Crafting the Biomimetic Hydrogel for Wearable Biosensors

Abstract

Hydrogel-based wearable biosensors have revolutionized personal health monitoring due to their exceptional biocompatibility, flexibility, and adaptive functionality. These devices offer a significant advancement in healthcare by enabling personalized monitoring and diagnostics directly interfaced with the human body. To date, various hydrogel formulations have been developed using different fabrication techniques. However, they often face limitations such as low mechanical strength and susceptibility to permanent breakage in such monitoring systems. Further, the lack of dynamic cues and structural complexity within the hydrogels limit their range of functions. Recent developments have focused on overcoming these challenges by engineering hydrogels with enhanced physicochemical properties, ranging from advanced chemical compositions to integrating dynamic modulation and high-tech architectures. Herein, the major advancements in designing and engineering hydrogels are reviewed and strategies targeting precise manipulation for their application in wearable biosensors.