Recent advances in glycopeptide hydrogels: design, biological functions, and biomedical applications

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Glycopeptide hydrogels, biomaterials constructed from polysaccharides and peptides through dynamic covalent bonding and supramolecular interactions, mimic the structure and functions of the natural extracellular matrix. Their three-dimensional network structure endows them with remarkable mechanical resilience, self-healing capacity, and stimuli-responsive behavior, enabling diverse biomedical applications in tissue regeneration, wound healing, drug delivery, and antimicrobial therapies. This review comprehensively examines design principles for engineering glycopeptide hydrogels, encompassing biomolecular selection criteria and dynamic crosslinking methodologies. We analyze their multifunctional properties including antimicrobial efficacy, immunomodulation, antioxidant activity, tissue adhesion, and angiogenic potential, while highlighting smart drug release mechanisms. Applications in regenerative medicine are critically assessed, particularly in cutaneous wound healing, bone and cartilage reconstruction, myocardial repair, and neural regeneration. Finally, we delineate future directions to advance glycopeptide hydrogels, emphasizing functional sequence expansion of bioactive motifs, high-fidelity biomechanical mimicry of natural tissues, and precise simulation of organ-specific microenvironments for next-generation precision medicine.

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

Browse all related research

Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.