Hydrogels Vastly Benefit Medical DevicesHydrogels Vastly Benefit Medical Devices

Hydrogels, with their high-water content and versatile properties, are ideal for advancing medical devices in chronic wound care, tissue regeneration and drug delivery. Their adaptability and biocompatibility have made them transformative materials since their debut in soft contact lenses six decades ago.

Joanne Moody, MS, president and principal consultant at Zeta Scientific LLC, a materials science consultancy in medical devices based in the San Francisco Bay Area, will explore hydrogel innovations in her upcoming presentation, “The Expanding Role of Hydrogels in Medical Device Innovation,” at the SPE/MPD MiniTec conference, as part of the MD&M West show in Anaheim, CA, next month.

Moody shared her insights into hydrogels’ potential with MD+DI.

What excites you about hydrogels in medical devices?

Moody: Hydrogels are soft, flexible, and biocompatible polymers with tissue-like properties. I am excited about the advances in hydrogel chemistry that allow tuning of molecular structure and properties for diverse applications. Hydrogel applications include contact lenses, wound care, tissue engineering, and drug delivery systems. Their dynamic versatility holds promise in improving healthcare.

What are the mechanisms of action for hydrogels for medical devices?

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Moody: Hydrogels offer unique mechanisms that improve medical device performance.

Hydrogels absorb exudate and maintain moisture for wound healing while providing comfort that promotes faster recovery. They can be designed with antimicrobial properties that disrupt bacteria and reduce infections.

Controlled drug release devices with hydrogels use mechanisms including degradation, diffusion, swelling, and external stimuli, ensuring precise drug delivery to the target area and controlling dose rate.

Self-healing injectable and bioactive hydrogel scaffolds are designed for tissue repair, offer controlled degradation, and make them ideal for healing tissues, cartilage and bones.

In monitoring and therapy, hydrogels with electrical conductivity and adhesion properties, directly sticking to the human skin and a medical device, create high-performing wearable medical devices, such as the electrocardiogram (ECG) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS).

What are the best candidates for hydrogels and why?

Moody: Soft contact lenses, which fit on the cornea, are the first and also one of the most successful hydrogel applications because of optical properties, oxygen permeability, comfort, duration, and biocompatibility.

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Hydrogels are also a go-to choice for diverse wound types, from burns to chronic skin ulcers. Their success is based on moisture retention, nonadherent nature, cooling/soothing, exudate management, and bioactive potential.

In addition, hydrogens excel in drug delivery with injections that provide sustained release, reduce treatment frequency, and improve patient compliance.

Are there any caveats on incorporating hydrogels into medical devices? 

Moody: Incorporating hydrogels into medical devices presents several challenges. For example, hydrogels are fragile and can tear easily during testing.

Rapid degradation may also limit their effectiveness in implants and drug delivery. Furthermore, manufacturing costs, sustainability, and fabrication methods, like additive manufacturing and electrospinning, are expensive and slow to scale. Storage conditions must preserve bioactive properties.

Finally, translating hydrogel solutions from animal studies to human applications is a complex, time-consuming process, further complicated by regulatory requirements.

What are the promising applications on the horizon?

Moody: The promising applications are growing in wound care, drug delivery, and tissue regeneration.

Hydrogels are poised to improve chronic wound care outcomes, especially in diabetic ulcers. Multifunctional smart hydrogel bandages were prototyped to deliver drugs, and provide electrical stimulation and continuous monitoring by pH and temperature sensors. Animal studies show accelerated healing with bandages, and the sensors could accurately monitor the healing process without visual inspection.

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New drug delivery is moving from daily injections to less frequent injections, making treatments more straightforward and more convenient. An animal study has shown that extended-release hydrogels with special additives could continue to be released for one and a half months. Indeed, there is promise of fewer injections in the future. 

Another surgical treatment on the horizon is a sprayable hydrogel that reduces bleeding after endoscopy procedures.

Tissue regeneration with hydrogel scaffolds will improve wound healing and is based on mimicking the natural tissue extracellular matrix (ECM). An animal study with a hydrogel 3D-printed scaffold with embedded drugs showed the repair of diabetic bone defects.

In conclusion, hydrogels continue to unlock new possibilities, revolutionizing medical device technology and enhancing patient outcomes.