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Yin et al. Soft Sci. 2025, 5, 30 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/ss.2025.15 Page 7 of 9

First, although various strategies have been employed to enhance the mechanical properties of gelatin-based
biogels, their performance still lags behind that of synthetic polymer gels, particularly in terms of fracture
toughness. It remains a great challenge to construct a gelatin-based biogel with the comprehensive
performances of high strength, toughness, and fracture-resistance capability due to the insufficient
crosslinking structure. Owing to the tunable configuration of gelatin chains and the presence of
multifunctional groups, recent strategies for strengthening and toughening synthetic polymer hydrogels,
such as highly entangled chain structures and solvent-induced toughening, may provide effective
approaches to further enhance the mechanical properties of gelatin hydrogels. Enhanced mechanical
performance will broaden the application scope of biogel-based wearable sensors in demanding mechanical
environments.

Second, despite the introduction of conductive fillers and mobile ions into gelatin matrix endowing the
biogel with conductivity, the conductivity of these tough gelatin-based biogels is lower than 1 s/m, which is
insufficient for applications as active sensing materials, particularly in bioelectrodes. The low conductivity
primarily arises from the intrinsically insulating nature of gelatin, which constitutes the bulk of the biogel
and impedes the formation of continuous conductive pathways. To overcome this limitation, innovative
strategies such as constructing dual-phase structures-comprising a conductive component-rich phase
embedded within the gelatin matrix-may enable the high conductivity (> 1 s/cm) in gelatin-based biogels,
realizing a material revolution in wearable bioelectronics.

Additionally, enhancing the multifunctionality of gelatin biogels, such as incorporating antibacterial or
drug-releasing capabilities, could broaden their scope of application in health monitoring and therapeutic
systems. By combining advanced material design with bioinspired functionality, these functionalized biogels
will hold great promise for the development of next-generation flexible wearable bioelectronics that
integrate sensing and therapeutic functions.

DECLARATIONS
Authors’ contributions
Wrote the original draft: Yin, J. J.; Li, Y.
Supervised, reviewed, and revised the manuscript: Sun, X.; Qin, Z. H.

Availability of data and materials
Not applicable.

Financial support and sponsorship
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China
under Grant No. 22102139.

Conflicts of interest
Yin J. and Li Y. are affiliated with Xi’an Rare Metal Materials Institute Co., Ltd., while the other authors
have declared that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.

Consent for publication
Not applicable.