Comparison of major responsive hydrogel types for wound dressing and localized drug delivery.
| Hydrogel type | Trigger | Typical release behavior | Wound-care relevance | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| pH responsive hydrogels | Acidic/basic wound pH | pH triggered swelling, degradation, or bond cleavage | Infection and chronic wound microenvironments | Variable wound pH may affect predictability |
| Temperature responsive hydrogels | Local temperature change | Sol–gel transition or thermally controlled diffusion | Injectable or in situ forming dressings | Limited response range near physiological temperature |
| Glucose responsive hydrogels | Elevated glucose/glucose oxidase reaction | Glucose-dependent release and antibacterial activity | Diabetic wound healing | Requires careful control of oxidative by-products |
| ROS responsive hydrogels | Excess reactive oxygen species | Oxidative degradation and drug release | Inflamed and infected wounds | Over-response may weaken the network |
| Enzyme-responsive hydrogels | Bacterial enzymes or matrix metalloproteinases | Enzyme mediated degradation or cargo release | Infection responsive and chronic wound therapy | Enzyme levels vary between wounds |
| Multi stimuli responsive hydrogels | Combined pH, glucose, ROS, enzymes, or temperature | More selective and adaptive release | Complex chronic wound microenvironments | More complex formulation and validation |
During the preparation of this work, the authors used the Grammarly tool for language editing, grammar improvement, and formatting assistance. After utilizing the tool/service, the authors reviewed and edited the content as necessary and take full responsibility for the final content of the publication.
MF: Conceptualization, Supervision, Methodology, Investigation, Data curation, Visualization, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing. SS: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Validation, Writing—review & editing. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
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