Emerging Developments and Prospects of Injectable Smart Hydrogels for Bioelectronics

Abstract

Soft matter bioelectronics is an emergent and multidisciplinary research field that seeks to exploit biology in conjunction with electronics for diagnostic and healthcare treatments. In this regard, this chapter describes the synthesis, characterization, and applications of electroactive injectable polymer hydrogels, which can be formed by conducting polymer-based networks or hybrid networks of polymers containing conductive nanomaterials crosslinked through physical interactions or dynamic covalent bonds. Besides, the recent developments of emerging ionic liquid integrated gels (iongels) and deep eutectic solvent integrated gels (eutectogels) are also discussed, which opens new research perspectives to be explored in the coming years. Finally, the employment and prospects of electroactive injectable hydrogels, iongels, and eutectogels in the foremost bioelectronic applications, ranging from tissue engineering to biosensing, are outlined.