Smart Hydrogel Device Delivers Hydrogen Gas to Protect Tissues from Injury
- Authors
- Wen Li, Jing Zhang, Romain Nith, Jiping Yue, Ananth Kamath, Chuanwang Yang, Chen Wei, Brennan Lee, Pengju Li, Hsiu-Ming Tsai, Tiantian Guo, Changxu Sun, Saehyun Kim, Lewis L Shi, Pedro Lopes, Lihua Jin, Bozhi Tian
- Journal
- Nature Chemical Engineering
- Year
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.1038/s44286-025-00259-x
- Study Type
- Cell Culture
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury
- Body System
- Cardiovascular
TL;DR
A portable hydrogel device generated hydrogen locally and protected heart, skin, and cultured cells from ischemia-reperfusion injury in preclinical models.
Key Finding
A hydrogel electrochemical device that produces hydrogen gas on-site showed protective effects against ischemia-reperfusion injury in heart and skin tissues across laboratory, isolated organ, and animal studies.
Summary
Researchers developed a small, portable device made of hydrogel (a gel-like material) that produces hydrogen gas on demand through an electrical process. The device delivers hydrogen directly to damaged tissue, which may help protect cells from injury that occurs when blood flow is cut off and then restored (called ischemia-reperfusion injury). The team tested this device in lab dishes with heart and skin cells, in isolated hearts, and in skin wounds in animals, and found it protected tissues from damage.
Practical Takeaway
This is early-stage research in animals and lab settings, not yet tested in humans. The device represents a novel approach to hydrogen delivery that differs from hydrogen water or gas inhalation, but its real-world therapeutic value for human patients remains unknown. More research, including human trials, would be needed before any health claims could be made.
Abstract
Molecular hydrogen (H2) protects organs from reactive oxygen species damage associated with ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Existing H2 delivery methods, such as gas inhalation and H2-rich water consumption, target the entire body and experience leakage during administration. Here we engineer a portable hydrogel electrochemical cell that enables on-demand H2 production via the hydrogen evolution reaction. The system enables H2 controlled generation, localized storage and sustained diffusion to the tissue-device interface, with better controllability and sustainability. We conduct a thorough study of H2 evolution and dynamics in the hydrogel system, evaluating the influence of hydrogel polymer composition on the hydrogen evolution reaction kinetics, bubble morphologies and storage. We validate its protective effects (1) in vitro with cardiomyocytes and keratinocytes, (2) ex vivo in I/R hearts and (3) in vivo in skin I/R pressure ulcers. These findings demonstrate the potential of the hydrogel electrochemical cell design for efficient and sustainable H2 delivery in I/R therapy, which could be broadly applied in other gas-based therapies and drug delivery research.