Rapid photoinduced self-healing, controllable drug release, skin adhesion ability, and mechanical stability of hydrogels incorporating linker-modified gold nanoparticles and nanogels

This dataset comes from a study exploring how to improve thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAm) hydrogels for use in biomedical applications like drug delivery. To boost their performance, we added a custom-made cross-linker derived from natural amino acids called N,N′-bis(acryloyl)cystine (BISS), gold nanoparticles (GNPs) that bond through gold–sulfur interactions, and small nanogels made from the same pNIPAm-BISS material. These additions helped the hydrogels become stronger, heal themselves faster after damage, stick better to skin, and release drugs more effectively. We observed that the mechanical strength improved by about 65%, and the gels could stretch 25% more. Using a near-infrared (NIR) laser (800 nm, 0.75 W), the gels healed up to 85% in just 2 minutes. Drug release was also much better, reaching 0.08 mg/mL—almost double compared to unmodified gels. The data includes results from mechanical tests, drug release experiments, healing tests with NIR light, and temperature response studies. Altogether, these materials show good promise for smart biomedical systems that respond to light and heat.