Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Mar 28;11(4):255.
doi: 10.3390/gels11040255.

Agarose Hydrogels for Bone Tissue Engineering, from Injectables to Bioprinting

Yibin Huang  1 , Siyuan Peng  1 , Yifan Chen  1 , Bin Chu  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Agarose Hydrogels for Bone Tissue Engineering, from Injectables to Bioprinting

Yibin Huang et al. Gels. .

Abstract

A great interest in agarose, with many health-promoting and gel properties, has been registered, especially in the field of bone regeneration and repair. Agarose and its major bioactive compounds are involved in biological activities such as inflammation, cell adhesion and proliferation, and the promotion of tissue repair. Due to its unique physical properties like gelation and solubility, agarose is increasingly utilized in the medical industry. The aim of this review is to present an overview of the applications of agarose hydrogels in bone tissue engineering, introducing agarose and its modified products as innovative solutions for bone regeneration. Additionally, the injectability of agarose hydrogels and their applications in bioprinting are also summarized. Data indicate that agarose will play an increasing role in current and future global medical sectors.

Keywords: agarose; biological 3D printing technology; bone; hydrogel.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The molecular structure of agarose.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Structural changes in agarose hydrogels during heating and cooling.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The technology used in 3D printing of cell biology at the present stage: (a) extrusion biological 3D printing driven by air pressure and driven by piston machinery; (b) ink-jet 3D bioprinting, which jets bio-ink by heating to generate steam bubbles and controls ink jets through the piezoelectric effect; (c) photocuring 3D bioprinting technology.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Clarke B. Normal Bone Anatomy and Physiology. Clin. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. 2008;3:S131–S139. doi: 10.2215/CJN.04151206. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hadjidakis D.J., Androulakis I.I. Bone Remodeling. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 2006;1092:385–396. doi: 10.1196/annals.1365.035. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lee S.S., Du X., Kim I., Ferguson S.J. Scaffolds for Bone-Tissue Engineering. Matter. 2022;5:2722–2759. doi: 10.1016/j.matt.2022.06.003. - DOI
    1. Zhu G., Zhang T., Chen M., Yao K., Huang X., Zhang B., Li Y., Liu J., Wang Y., Zhao Z. Bone Physiological Microenvironment and Healing Mechanism: Basis for Future Bone-Tissue Engineering Scaffolds. Bioact. Mater. 2021;6:4110–4140. doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2021.03.043. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Xue N., Ding X., Huang R., Jiang R., Huang H., Pan X., Min W., Chen J., Duan J.-A., Liu P., et al. Bone Tissue Engineering in the Treatment of Bone Defects. Pharmaceuticals. 2022;15:879. doi: 10.3390/ph15070879. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources