A Review of the Mechanism, Properties, and Applications of Hydrogels Prepared by Enzymatic Cross-linking

Hydrogels, as biological materials, are widely used infood, tissueengineering, and biomedical applications. Nevertheless, many issuesremain in the preparation of hydrogels by physical and chemical methods,such as low bioaffinity, weak mechanical properties, and unstablestructures, which also limit their applications in other fields. However,the enzymatic cross-linking method has the advantages of high catalyticefficiency, mild reaction conditions, and the presence of nontoxicsubstances. In this review, we evaluated the chemical, physical, andbiological methods of preparing hydrogels and introduced three commoncross-linking enzymes and their principles for preparing hydrogels.This review introduced the applications and properties of hydrogelsprepared by the enzymatic method and also provided some suggestionsregarding the current situation and future development of hydrogelsprepared by enzymatic cross-linking.

Automated summary

This review discusses the preparation methods of hydrogels and their wide applications in biology, tissue engineering, and biomedical fields. However, the existing physical and chemical methods have limitations such as low bioaffinity, weak mechanical properties, and unstable structures. The enzymatic cross-linking method, on the other hand, offers advantages such as high catalytic efficiency, mild reaction conditions, and non-toxic substances. This review also introduces the applications and properties of hydrogels prepared by enzymatic methods and provides suggestions for the future development of enzymatic cross-linking in hydrogel preparation.