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REVIEW article

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

Sec. Biomaterials

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1644222

This article is part of the Research TopicAdvancing Cartilage Regeneration and Repair: Biomaterials and Biomechanical StrategiesView all 4 articles

Recent Advances in Injectable Hydrogels for Osteoarthritis Treatments

Provisionally accepted
Jiayi ChenJiayi Chen1Mingcong DengMingcong Deng2Jiangliang WangJiangliang Wang3Yuanwen LiuYuanwen Liu4Ziran HuZiran Hu5Feifan LuanFeifan Luan1Huifeng ZhuHuifeng Zhu6Chenxiao ZhengChenxiao Zheng1*
  • 1Zhongshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhongshan, China
  • 2Shunde Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Foshan, China
  • 3Liuyang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hunan, China
  • 4Luoding Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangdong, China
  • 5Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Shenzhen Hospital, shenzhen, China
  • 6The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China

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Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease characterized by cartilage degradation, synovial inflammation, and subchondral bone alterations, poses significant challenges due to its high prevalence and associated disability. Injectable hydrogels have emerged as promising candidates for OA treatment due to their ability to deliver bioactive molecules directly to the affected joint, enhancing local efficacy while minimizing systemic side effects. This review focuses on recent advances in injectable hydrogels for OA treatment, emphasizing their structural design, functional properties, and therapeutic applications. We further discuss the advantages and limitations of natural, synthetic, and composite hydrogels, as well as innovative cross-linking strategies and stimuli-responsive behaviors. Thermosensitive, pH-responsive, enzyme-responsive, and multi-responsive hydrogels are highlighted for their potential to achieve intelligent drug delivery, inhibit cartilage degradation, and reduce inflammation. Overall, injectable hydrogels hold great promise for OA treatment and become an effective therapeutic option with further research and innovation.

Keywords: injectable hydrogels, Osteoarthritis, Therapeutic hydrogels, Biocompatibility, Stimuli-responsive hydrogels

Received: 10 Jun 2025; Accepted: 28 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Deng, Wang, Liu, Hu, Luan, Zhu and Zheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Chenxiao Zheng, Zhongshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhongshan, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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