ReviewPolymer science & technology (Washington, D.C.)2025
From Light to Life: Molecular Mechanisms and Macroscopic Transformations in Photoresponsive Hydrogels.
Review in Polymer science & technology (Washington, D.C.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Review
- Hydrogel microneedles functioning in pathological surroundings: where soft materials overcome hard scars.Materials today. Bio · 2026Review
- Advancements in Functional Polymeric Scaffolds for Scar-Free Skin Regeneration.Polymer science & technology (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Review
- Temporal Decoupling: A New Paradigm of 4D Photo-Responsive Carbon Dots Films With Modular Regulation of Color and Deformation.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Near-Infrared Light-Driven Microgrooved UCNPs/Azobenzene-LCE Actuators and Substrates for Cardiomyoblast Alignment.ACS applied materials & interfaces · 2026Article
- High Entanglement in Hydrogels: From Polymer Physics to Robust Mechanics.Polymer science & technology (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Review
- Microbiome-Responsive Hydrogels: From Biological Cues to Smart Biomaterials.Pharmaceutics · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Photoresponsive hydrogels are dynamic polymeric networks capable of undergoing spatiotemporally controlled changes when exposed to light stimuli. Their capacity to translate photon-triggered chemical reactions into macroscopic property changes enables diverse applications in tissue engineering, drug delivery, soft robotics, and dynamic cell culture. This review focuses on the fundamental question of how light-induced molecular events are transduced into macroscopic transformations in hydrogel properties. We classify these materials by their core photochemical mechanisms: photo-triggered bond formation, bond cleavage, conformational change, and photoinitiated polymerization. Such processes modulate the network structure via crosslink formation, altered crosslinking density, or light-triggered supramolecular self-assembly. Special attention is given to protein-based systems, which offer distinct advantages such as reversible conformational switching, genetic encodability and biocompatibility. By elucidating the engineering principles that connect photochemistry to bulk behavior, this review surveys emerging biomedical and engineering applications and provides a framework for the rational design of next-generation photoresponsive hydrogels.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.