Advances in synthetic strategies and applications of polymeric hydrogels

Abstract Hydrogels are three‐dimensional networks of hydrophilic polymers capable of absorbing and retaining a significant amount of water while maintaining their structural integrity. Their biocompatibility, tunable physical characteristics, and resemblance to the extracellular matrix make them highly versatile in biomedical engineering. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of hydrogels, covering their historical development, classification, and synthetic and fabrication strategies tailored for specific applications. Their widespread use spans biomedical, industrial, and environmental fields, driven by their high water retention, biocompatibility, and responsiveness to external stimuli. In biomedicine, hydrogels play a crucial role in drug delivery, wound healing, tissue engineering, biosensing, and bioprinting, with applications extending to cardiac regeneration and neural tissue growth. Additionally, they function as smart materials in sensors and actuators and contribute to advancements in flexible electronics and energy storage. Finally, current trends, challenges, and opportunities of the hydrogel have been summarized. Highlights New synthetic strategies for hydrogel (HG) have been elucidated. Enhanced biocompatibility boosts HG applications in life sciences. HG haspotential uses in biomedical field, controlled drug delivery and release. Advanced HGs have tunable characteristics needed for various applications.