Study for Enzyme Catalyzed Hydrogels for Smart Applications

Zeyu Li, Xianyang Wen, Xuantong Yi

2025

Abstract

Hydrogels, as three-dimensional hydrophilic polymer networks capable of absorbing significant amounts of water, hold immense potential in biomedicine, tissue engineering, and drug delivery. This paper highlights enzyme-catalyzed hydrogels as precision biomaterials that utilize enzymatic reactions-such as oxidation, dephosphorylation, and transglutaminase bonding-for spatiotemporally controlled assembly. Their substrate-specific catalysis achieves over 90% conversion efficiency under physiological conditions (37°C, pH 7.4), enabling rapid gelation in less than 60 seconds with minimal cytotoxicity (95% cell viability in 3D cultures). Despite these advantages, clinical translation faces several challenges: free enzymes lose 40-60% activity within 72 hours in biological environments, production costs for therapeutic-grade enzymes exceed $1,000 per gram, and the mechanical strength (typically less than 50 kPa compressive modulus) remains inadequate for load-bearing tissues. Recent advancements in enzyme technology involve covalent enzyme immobilization on silica nanoparticles (enhancing thermal stability by 15°C) and on graphene oxide composites, which triple tensile strength. Multi-enzyme systems now facilitate glucose-responsive drug release with a responsiveness of less than 30 minutes. Emerging applications extend beyond biomedicine to environmental engineering, including peroxidase-mediated pollutant degradation, achieving 85% phenol removal in 6 hours, and catalase-based biosensors for pathogen detection. Future priorities involve the development of intelligent systems that integrate diagnostic triggers (e.g., protease-activated fluorescence) with therapeutic functions, while also enhancing enzyme reusability (exceeding 50 cycles) and standardizing biocompatibility protocols. Interdisciplinary innovation is essential to balance material performance with scalable production for both clinical and environmental applications.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Li Z., Wen X. and Yi X. (2025). Study for Enzyme Catalyzed Hydrogels for Smart Applications. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Innovations in Applied Mathematics, Physics, and Astronomy - Volume 1: IAMPA; ISBN 978-989-758-774-0, SciTePress, pages 510-515. DOI: 10.5220/0013828500004708

in Bibtex Style

@conference{iampa25,
author={Zeyu Li and Xianyang Wen and Xuantong Yi},
title={Study for Enzyme Catalyzed Hydrogels for Smart Applications},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Innovations in Applied Mathematics, Physics, and Astronomy - Volume 1: IAMPA},
year={2025},
pages={510-515},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013828500004708},
isbn={978-989-758-774-0},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Innovations in Applied Mathematics, Physics, and Astronomy - Volume 1: IAMPA
TI - Study for Enzyme Catalyzed Hydrogels for Smart Applications
SN - 978-989-758-774-0
AU - Li Z.
AU - Wen X.
AU - Yi X.
PY - 2025
SP - 510
EP - 515
DO - 10.5220/0013828500004708
PB - SciTePress