# MXene- and MOF-Based Hydrogels: Emerging Platforms for Electrochemical Biosensing and Health Monitoring

**Authors:** Kandaswamy Theyagarajan, Sairaman Saikrithika, Young-Joon Kim

PMC · DOI: 10.3390/mi17020267 · 2026-02-20

## TL;DR

This paper reviews how MXene and MOF-based hydrogels are being developed for electrochemical biosensing in smart healthcare, focusing on their design, performance, and future potential.

## Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive and critical comparison of MXene and MOF-integrated hydrogels for electrochemical health monitoring.

## Key findings

- Conductive hydrogels with MXene and MOFs show improved electrochemical performance and biocompatibility.
- Data-driven approaches are emerging to enhance signal interpretation and multi-analyte discrimination in these systems.
- Challenges include long-term stability, scalability, and integration into intelligent systems.

## Abstract

Smart healthcare is rapidly emerging as a transformative paradigm, enabling simultaneous health monitoring, therapeutic intervention, and early prediction of disease onset. In this context, electrochemical monitoring systems have attracted growing interest due to their cost-effectiveness, ease of operation, miniaturization and compatibility with wearable platforms. Accordingly, conductive hydrogel-based electrochemical (bio)sensors have gained significant attention for health monitoring owing to their soft mechanical properties, high water content, excellent biocompatibility, and ability to form intimate, conformal interfaces with biological tissues. Their three-dimensional polymeric networks facilitate efficient ion transport and mechanical flexibility, making them particularly suitable for wearable and noninvasive sensing and monitoring applications. However, the intrinsically limited conductivity and catalytic activity of pristine hydrogels often constrain their electrochemical performance. To overcome these limitations, functional nanomaterials such as metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and MXene (MX) nanosheets have been increasingly integrated into hydrogel matrices to enhance conductivity and electrochemical activity. This review provides a comprehensive and critical comparison of recent advances in MOF- and MX-integrated conductive hydrogels for electrochemical health monitoring. In addition to material design strategies and sensing performance, emerging trends in data-driven sensing aimed at improving signal interpretation and multi-analyte discrimination are systematically discussed. Key challenges related to long-term stability, biocompatibility, scalability, and intelligent system integration are critically assessed, and the future potential of these platforms within closed-loop architectures is highlighted, paving the way for next-generation conductive hydrogel-based electrochemical sensors in smart healthcare applications.

## Full-text entities

- **Genes:** PVALB (parvalbumin) [NCBI Gene 5816] {aka D22S749}, CEACAM3 (CEA cell adhesion molecule 3) [NCBI Gene 1084] {aka CD66D, CEA, CGM1, CGM1a, W264, W282}, GRP (gastrin releasing peptide) [NCBI Gene 2922] {aka BN, GRP-10, preproGRP, proGRP}, CXCL10 (C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10) [NCBI Gene 3627] {aka C7, IFI10, INP10, IP-10, SCYB10, crg-2}, ALB (albumin) [NCBI Gene 213] {aka FDAHT, HSA, PRO0883, PRO0903, PRO1341}
- **Diseases:** pain (MESH:D010146), small-cell lung cancer (MESH:D055752), Parkinson's (MESH:D010300), injury to (MESH:D014947), inflammation (MESH:D007249), melanoma (MESH:D008545), schizophrenia (MESH:D012559), Alzheimer's disease (MESH:D000544), diabetes (MESH:D003920), Cancer (MESH:D009369), muscle fatigue (MESH:D005221), autoimmune disorders (MESH:D001327), neurological disorders (MESH:D009461), metabolic disorders (MESH:D008659), cytotoxic (MESH:D064420), cardiovascular disorders (MESH:D002318), allergy (MESH:D004342), tuberculosis (MESH:D014376), thyroid disorder (MESH:D013959), breast cancer (MESH:D001943), overdose (MESH:D062787), liver cancer (MESH:D006528)
- **Chemicals:** PAM (MESH:C028797), chitosan (MESH:D048271), poly (styrene sulfonate) (MESH:C003321), oxygen (MESH:D010100), Zn (MESH:D015032), Acetaminophen (MESH:D000082), alginate (MESH:D000464), Metal (MESH:D008670), PEGDA (MESH:C437167), pyruvic acid (MESH:D019289), Pt (MESH:D010984), PU (MESH:D011005), Pro (MESH:D011392), aflatoxin B1 (MESH:D016604), gold (MESH:D006046), PVA (MESH:C063253), C (MESH:D002244), Adrenaline (MESH:D004837), polyacrylamide (MESH:C016679), polymer (MESH:D011108), chelerythrine (MESH:C016299), Lactate (MESH:D019344), MOF (MESH:D000073396), polypyrrole (MESH:C067635), Ni (MESH:D009532), ferrocene (MESH:C004998), Estradiol (MESH:D004958), graphene oxide (MESH:C000628730), uric acid (MESH:D014527), nitrogen (MESH:D009584), V (MESH:D014639), Apt (MESH:C071989), Fe (MESH:D007501), aflatoxin (MESH:D000348), PEDOT:PSS (MESH:C533756), MnO2 (MESH:C016552), water (MESH:D014867), silane (MESH:D012821), gluconic acid (MESH:C030691), CeO2 (MESH:C030583), ACC (MESH:C023863), blood glucose (MESH:D001786), poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (MESH:C121383), hyaluronic acid (MESH:D006820), Norepinephrine (MESH:D009638), Nb (MESH:D009556), polydopamine (MESH:C568283), Cu (MESH:D003300), alkaloids (MESH:D000470), carboxymethyl chitosan (MESH:C514968), NE (MESH:D009356), SA (MESH:D000077145), phenylboronic acid (MESH:C010686), Delamanid (MESH:C516022), PEDOT (-), levothyroxine (MESH:D013974), hydrogen peroxide (MESH:D006861), graphite (MESH:D006108), sulfur (MESH:D013455), Zr (MESH:D015040)
- **Species:** Malus domestica (apple, species) [taxon 3750], Mus musculus (house mouse, species) [taxon 10090], Pg [taxon 1985360], Porphyromonas gingivalis (species) [taxon 837], Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606], Aspergillus (genus) [taxon 5052]
- **Cell lines:** LOx — Homo sapiens (Human), Parkinson disease, Induced pluripotent stem cell (CVCL_RJ48), Chinese hamster K1 — Cricetulus griseus (Chinese hamster), Spontaneously immortalized cell line (CVCL_0212), Ti3AlC2 — Homo sapiens (Human), Human papillomavirus-related endocervical adenocarcinoma, Cancer cell line (CVCL_8438), L929 — Mus musculus (Mouse), Spontaneously immortalized cell line (CVCL_AR58), B16F10 — Mus musculus (Mouse), Mouse melanoma, Cancer cell line (CVCL_0159), MDA-MB-231 — Homo sapiens (Human), Breast adenocarcinoma, Cancer cell line (CVCL_0062), BOx — Homo sapiens (Human), Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Transformed cell line (CVCL_VA69), CHO-K1 — Cricetulus griseus (Chinese hamster), Spontaneously immortalized cell line (CVCL_0214)

## Figures

9 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12943586/full.md

---
Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12943586