Author(s)

Wencao Wang

Corresponding Author

Wencao Wang

Abstract

Bone tissue engineering, as an important branch of regenerative medicine, aims to reconstruct functional bone tissue by integrating biomaterials, cells, and bioactive factors, addressing the limitations of traditional bone grafting. Hydrogels are increasingly used in the field of bone tissue engineering due to their biocompatibility, unique swelling properties and relatively simple preparation methods. They can provide a three-dimensional growth environment for cells, mimic the natural extracellular matrix, promote angiogenesis, modulate immune responses, promote cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation, and serve as a vehicle for drug delivery, thus accelerating bone regeneration. However, hydrogels, as excellent scaffold materials in bone tissue engineering, are often limited in their application for load-bearing tissue repair due to mechanical performance constraints. Specifically, traditional hydrogels demonstrate insufficient mechanical strength and toughness, poor compressive performance, and low fatigue strength, making them inadequate for withstanding the complex stresses involved in the growth and remodeling processes of load-bearing tissues. This research analyzes the existing strategies that can be used to enhance the mechanical properties of hydrogels and discusses their performance in bone tissue engineering, including cross-linking strategies, material composites, and structural regulation. Among these, crosslinking strategies can achieve a compressive strength of 1.5 MPa for hydrogels while maintaining an 80% high water content. Material composites can triple the compressive modulus of gelatin hydrogels and activate osteogenic signaling pathways through ion release. Structural regulation can increase the compressive strength of hydrogels to 2.5 MPa, supporting osteoblast infiltration and angiogenesis. This research may provide new insights for the development of hydrogels with superior mechanical properties.

Keywords

Bone Tissue Engineering; Hydrogels; Mechanical Properties; Enhancement Strategy; Bone Defect Treatment