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REVIEW ARTICLE

Engineering three-dimensional-printed gelatin hydrogels for flexible bioelectronics: Printing, conductive networks, and biomedical applications

Shanshan Bai1,2† ,  Jiameng Yang3† ,  Ximin Yuan3 ,  Zhiqing Lian4* ,  Zhu Xin1,2,5*
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1 Department of Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning , China
2 Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning , China
3 State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems & Liangzhu Laboratory, School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang , China
4 Department of Ultrasound, Wafangdian Central Hospital, Dalian, Liaoning , China
5 Molecular Oncology Laboratory, The University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois , United States
†These authors contributed equally to this work.
IJB, 026390421 https://doi.org/10.36922/ IJB026390421
Received: 23 September 2026 | Revised: 15 October 2026 | Accepted: 20 October 2026 | Published online: 12 November 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D-Printed Biomedical Devices-Series2)
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Flexible bioelectronics require compliant materials that maintain electrical function and stable contact with moving tissues. Gelatin-based hydrogels offer thermoreversible association, chemical adaptability, and compatibility with several three-dimensional (3D) printing routes, but their processing and operating requirements are closely coupled. This review connects gelatin chemistry and ink rheology with printing, conductive-network design, mechanical durability, and biointerface performance. Extrusion, vat photopolymerization, embedded printing, and volumetric fabrication are compared in terms of formulation compatibility and structural stabilization. Ionic, nanofiller, conducting polymer, and multinetwork approaches are evaluated according to their charge-transport mechanisms and associated trade-offs. Comparisons with related reviews and representative quantitative measurements clarify both the scope of the synthesis and the limits of cross-study performance comparisons. Biomedical examples connect these principles with sensing, cardiac and neural interfaces, and regeneration. Gelatin-containing functional devices are distinguished from sacrificial gelatin processing and non-gelatin engineering analogs. Priorities include reliable multi-material interfaces, reporting of cyclic electrical and mechanical stability, application-specific validation, and data-assisted optimization of formulation and processing.

Keywords
Gelatin
Three-dimensional printing
Flexible bioelectronics
Conductive hydrogel
Sensors
Funding
This work was supported by the Heilongjiang Province Key Research and Development Program (2022XJ03C07), the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LMS26E050008), and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (GZC20250947).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing
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