In which of the following are hydrogels used?
- 1.Controlled drug delivery in patients
- 2.Mobile air-conditioning systems
- 3.Preparation of industrial lubricants
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 1 only
Hydrogels are water-swollen networks of cross-linked polymers, soft and compatible with body tissue. Their best-established use is medical: a drug trapped in the gel is released over time at a controlled rate, and the gels are also used in wound dressings, contact lenses and tissue engineering. UPSC's key treats statements 2 and 3 as incorrect.
- ✓ 1. Hydrogels can hold small drugs, proteins or even cells and release them over time and at a chosen site, and several such delivery systems are in clinical use.
- ✗ 2. UPSC's official key treats this statement as incorrect; we could not confirm the detail from an official source, so we do not explain it here.
- ✗ 3. UPSC's official key treats this statement as incorrect; we could not confirm the detail from an official source, so we do not explain it here.
Remember · Hydrogel = cross-linked, water-absorbing polymer network; soft, biocompatible. Uses: controlled drug release, wound dressings, soft contact lenses, tissue engineering.
Sources
- Li J, Mooney DJ. Designing hydrogels for controlled drug delivery. Nat Rev Mater 2016 (PubMed Central, US NIH) ↗ “Hydrogel delivery systems can leverage therapeutically beneficial outcomes of drug delivery and have found clinical use. Hydrogels can provide spatial and temporal control over the release of various therapeutic agents, including small-molecule drugs, macromolecular drugs and cells.”
- Versatility of Hydrogels: From Synthetic Strategies, Classification, and Properties to Biomedical Applications (peer-reviewed review, via PubMed Central) ↗ “they are widely accepted for various biomedical applications such as wound dressing, controlled drug delivery, bone regeneration, tissue engineering, biosensors, and artificial contact lenses”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·