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Review
. 2025 Jan 8;11(1):47.
doi: 10.3390/gels11010047.

Role of Ionizing Radiation Techniques in Polymeric Hydrogel Synthesis for Tissue Engineering Applications

Ion Călina  1 , Maria Demeter  1 , Anca Scărișoreanu  1 , Awn Abbas  2 , Muhammad Asim Raza  3
Affiliations
Review

Role of Ionizing Radiation Techniques in Polymeric Hydrogel Synthesis for Tissue Engineering Applications

Ion Călina et al. Gels. .

Abstract

Hydrogels are widely utilized in industrial and scientific applications owing to their ability to immobilize active molecules, cells, and nanoparticles. This capability has led to their growing use in various biomedical fields, including cell culture and transplantation, drug delivery, and tissue engineering. Among the available synthesis techniques, ionizing-radiation-induced fabrication stands out as an environmentally friendly method for hydrogel preparation. In alignment with the current requirements for cleaner technologies, developing hydrogels using gamma and electron beam irradiation technologies represents a promising and innovative approach for their biomedical applications. A key advantage of these methods is their ability to synthesize homogeneous three-dimensional networks in a single step, without the need for chemical initiators or catalysts. Additionally, the fabrication process is controllable by adjusting the radiation dose and dose rate.

Keywords: crosslinking; hydrogels; ionizing radiation; polymerization; sterilization; tissue engineering.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Scheme 2
Scheme 2
Radiation-induced polymerization [54].
Scheme 1
Scheme 1
Advantages and limitations of E-beam and gamma irradiation technology.
Scheme 3
Scheme 3
Radiation-induced graft polymerization [46].
Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Multi-component polymeric hydrogels fabricated via electron (E)-beam irradiation. (b) Fluorescence images of hydrogels after 24 h and 72 h of cell seeding, obtained from the LIVE/DEAD assay (red fluorescence indicates dead cells; green fluorescence indicates living cells). Reproduced with permission [80]. Copyright 2023, MDPI.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Qualitative evaluation of the mineralization and calcium deposition of rabbit-bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells on tragacanth gum/poly(vinyl alcohol)/halloysite nanotube hydrogels after up to 21 days of incubation. Reproduced with permission [81]. Copyright 2023, Elsevier.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Appearance of silk-fibroin-based soft and tough tissue engineering scaffolds. Reproduced with permission from [97]. Copyright 2020 American Chemical Society.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Human clinical trial outcomes of γ-irradiation-sterilized wound dressing applied to a nevus resection wound measuring 5.2 × 2.7 cm2 over 4 weeks. (A) Congenital melanocytic nevus, (B) skin wound post-surgical resection, (C) grafting procedure using small dressing pieces, (D) complete wound coverage by the dressing, (E) early biodegradability observed after seven days, and (F) early regeneration observed after four weeks. Reproduced with permission from [103]. Copyright 2017 Elsevier.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The potential applications of the use of ionizing radiation in TE applications.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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