Shape-Changing Hydrogels Show Promise for Tissue Engineering and Wound Healing

Human tissues often have complex three-dimensional shapes that are closely tied to their function, but recreating these curvatures remains challenging in tissue engineering and wound repair. Conventional approaches can struggle to reproduce structures with intricate geometries and surface features. To overcome these limitations, researchers have developed a 4D bio-kirigami strategy that programs soft, cell-compatible constructs to transform into complex tissue-like shapes over time.

Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago’s College of Engineering developed the 4D Bio-Kirigami Strategy for Engineering Complex Tissue Curvatures. The approach applies kirigami principles to soft, gel-like materials that can support living cells, programming the constructs to bend, fold, and transform after fabrication without additional manipulation.

The platform uses hydrogels made from derivatives of gelatin and alginate, a natural polymer derived from seaweed. Using photolithography, the researchers applied patterned light to create regions with different crosslinking densities, allowing selected areas of the constructs to expand and deform in controlled ways over time.

The constructs include a rigid outer framework that maintains its shape in culture medium, while inner regions are engineered to absorb the medium and expand. This structure allows programmed shape transformation while remaining compatible with long-term cell survival, growth, and differentiation.

Published in Cell Biomaterials on October 14, 2026, the study demonstrated that the platform could generate complex three-dimensional geometries alongside new tissue formation. The researchers next plan to evaluate the technology in animal models as a step toward potential clinical applications.

“Our research demonstrates that kirigami-patterned, cytocompatible hydrogels can be engineered to autonomously bend, fold, and transform into complex three-dimensional shapes,” said Kaelyn L. Gasvoda, a 2024 University of Illinois Chicago graduate and postdoctoral researcher at the Mayo Clinic. 

“We see significant potential for this technology to engineer tissues with complex three-dimensional architectures, precisely while enabling the spatial organization of multiple cell types to support their distinct functions,” said Aixiang Ding, research associate professor.

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University of Illinois Chicago College of Engineering