Human Hair Keratin-Based Hydrogels in Regenerative Medicine: Current Status and Future Directions

September 2023 in “ ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering ”

Mymuna Ashna, Neeharika Senthilkumar, Pallab Sanpui

regenerative medicine biomaterial scaffold hydrogels synthetic polymers biopolymers tissue engineering keratins fibrous proteins human hair keratin

TLDR Human hair keratin hydrogels show promise for use in regenerative medicine.

Regenerative medicine (RM) uses the regenerative potential of human cells to create functional human cells, tissues, and organs. A key component of RM is a biomaterial scaffold with the right physicochemical properties. Hydrogels, which can be made from synthetic polymers or biopolymers, have become a popular choice for tissue engineering and RM applications. They can be used as scaffolds for spatial patterning, delivering therapeutic agents, or substrates to enhance cell growth, differentiation, and migration. Biopolymers are preferred for their biocompatibility. Keratins, fibrous proteins, have recently been used to construct hydrogels for RM. This review focuses on the use of human hair keratin hydrogels in various RM applications.

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