MILK PROTEIN-BASED HYDROGELS: AN OVERVIEW OF THEIR EXTRACTION, SYNTHESIS AND BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS

Hydrogels are sophisticated category of biomaterials that closely resembles the properties of living tissues. Various polymers have been studied for creating hydrogels that closely mimic the structure and function of the extracellular matrix. Proteins that can be easily modified, have specific biochemical effects, and respond to external stimuli are considered promising for making hydrogels used in biomedical applications. Among these proteins, natural milk proteins stand out due to their high availability, good quality control, low cost, and beneficial biological properties. As a result, they have become a key area of research. However, there is a lack of thorough reviews that specifically focus on milk protein-based hydrogels. In this review, we compile the progress in developing hydrogels based on milk proteins, with a main focus on hydrogels made from milk proteins. We explain the methods used to create these hydrogels and summarize recent advancements in their applications, such as controlled drug delivery and regenerative medicine, along with related preclinical animal studies and an initial clinical pilot trial. Finally, we explore the future potential of milk protein-based hydrogels in biomedical fields. We believe this review will provide a solid theoretical foundation for the use of milk proteins in biomedical applications and serve as a reference for further research and development. For this review, electronic searches were conducted in the Web of Science and PubMed databases to identify literature on the construction methods of milk-protein based hydrogels and their biomedical applications.