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Q36 (IAS/2024) Science & Technology › New Materials, Energy & Environment-linked Tech › Advanced materials and nanotech Official Key

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 :

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: A
Explanation

The correct answer is option A (1 only).

Hydrogels have emerged as versatile and promising platforms for drug delivery[1], and pH-sensitive and/or temperature sensitive hydrogels can be used for site-specific controlled drug delivery[2]. Early PEG hydrogels were applied mostly as controlled drug delivery systems and as anti-adhesive biomaterials[3]. This clearly establishes that hydrogels are indeed used in controlled drug delivery in patients (Statement 1 is correct).

However, the provided sources contain no information supporting the use of hydrogels in mobile air-conditioning systems (Statement 2) or in the preparation of industrial lubricants (Statement 3). The one reference to mobile services in the documents relates to Internet of Things applications with sensors or drones, which is unrelated to hydrogels or air-conditioning systems.

Since only Statement 1 is verifiable and correct based on the available evidence, the answer is option A (1 only). For UPSC preparation, remember that hydrogels are primarily biomedical materials known for their high water content and applications in drug delivery, wound dressing, and tissue engineering.

Sources
  1. [1] http://www.nanochemres.org/article_206449.html
  2. [3] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0142961284900632
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PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
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Don’t just practise – reverse-engineer the question. This panel shows where this PYQ came from (books / web), how the examiner broke it into hidden statements, and which nearby micro-concepts you were supposed to learn from it. Treat it like an autopsy of the question: what might have triggered it, which exact lines in the book matter, and what linked ideas you should carry forward to future questions.
Q. In which of the following are hydrogels used ? 1. Controlled drug delivery in patients 2. Mobile air-conditioning systems 3. Preparati…
At a glance
Origin: Mostly Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 0/10 · 3.3/10
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This question exposes the limits of static reading. You cannot find 'Mobile AC' in a standard book index under Hydrogels. You must derive the answer from the material's physics: Hydrogels absorb water → Water evaporation causes cooling → Used in ACs. It’s a test of scientific intuition, not memory.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Are hydrogels used in controlled drug delivery systems for patients?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 5/5
"For this reason, either pH-sensitive and/or temperature sensitive hydrogels can be used for site-specific controlled drug delivery."
Why this source?
  • Explicitly describes hydrogels as usable for site-specific controlled drug delivery.
  • Mentions stimulus-responsive hydrogels (pH/temperature) which are applied for controlled release.
Web source
Presence: 5/5
"Early PEG hydrogels were applied mostly as controlled drug delivery systems and as anti-adhesive biomaterials."
Why this source?
  • States historical and practical use of PEG hydrogels primarily as controlled drug delivery systems.
  • Directly ties a class of hydrogels (PEG) to controlled drug delivery applications.
Web source
Presence: 4/5
"Chapter 11 - Advances in hydrogel-based controlled drug-delivery systems"
Why this source?
  • Is a dedicated chapter title indicating advances in hydrogel-based controlled drug-delivery systems.
  • Shows focused scholarly attention on hydrogels for controlled drug delivery, supporting their use in this application.

Science ,Class VIII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 9: The Amazing World of Solutes, Solvents, and Solutions > Our scientific heritage > p. 138
Strength: 4/5
“Water has primarily been used as a solvent for the preparation of medicinal formulations in Ayurveda, Siddha, and other traditional systems of medicine in India. Additionally, drug formulations have been prepared using hydro-alcoholic extracts of the herbs. The Indian systems of medicine have also referred to the use of oils, ghee, milk, and other substances as solvents for drug formulations, to help achieve the therapeutic benefits of the drug.”
Why relevant

Describes that different solvents/media (water, hydro-alcoholic extracts, oils, ghee, milk) have long been used as carriers for medicinal formulations.

How to extend

A student could generalize that drug delivery often relies on varied carrier media and therefore consider hydrogels as another carrier medium to investigate for controlled delivery.

Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 13: International Organizations > 13.10 Generic Drugs and Compulsory Licenses > p. 389
Strength: 4/5
“Generic Drugs: A generic drug is a medication that has exactly the same active ingredient as the brand name drug and yields the same therapeutic effect. It is the same in dosing, safety, strength, quality, the way it works, the way it is taken, and the way it should be used. Generic drugs do not need to contain the same inactive ingredients as the brand name product, say colour or taste can be different. However, a generic drug is generally marketed after the brand name drug's patent has expired, which may take up to 20 years.”
Why relevant

Defines that generic drugs may differ in inactive ingredients while retaining the same active ingredient, highlighting the role of formulation/excipients in how a drug is delivered.

How to extend

Use this rule to explore whether hydrogels could function as a differing inactive matrix or excipient to modify release profiles in formulations.

Science , class X (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 6: Control and Coordination > QUESTIONS > p. 111
Strength: 3/5
“• 1. How does chemical coordination take place in animals?• 2. Why is the use of iodised salt advisable?• 3. How does our body respond when adrenaline is secreted into the blood?• 4. Why are some patients of diabetes treated by giving injections of insulin?”
Why relevant

Gives an example where patients (diabetics) are treated by injections of insulin, implying clinical need for controlled, timed, or route-specific delivery of therapeutics.

How to extend

Combine this clinical need with knowledge of delivery systems to ask whether hydrogels can provide sustained or controlled release alternatives to injections.

Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 13: Plant Diversity of India > 13"3.2. Medicinal properties > p. 199
Strength: 3/5
“Drosera are capable of curdling milk, its bruised leaves are applied on blisters, used for dyeing silk. Nepenthes in local medicine to treat cholera patients, the liquid inside the pitcher is useful for urinary troubles, it is also used as eye drops. Utricularia is useful against cough, for dressing of wounds, as a remedy for urinary disease.”
Why relevant

Notes traditional use of plant materials for topical treatments and wound dressing, showing historical precedent for using physical matrices/materials in therapeutic application.

How to extend

From this pattern, a student might investigate modern dressing materials (e.g., hydrogels) as matrices that can also release drugs at wound sites.

Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 11: Industries > Drug Policy > p. 62
Strength: 2/5
“The salient features of the modified drug policy (1986) as announced on 15 September, 1994 are: • 1. Abolition of Industrial Licensing for all bulk drugs, their intermediates and formulations except five bulk drugs of the public sector.• 2. Foreign investment up to 51% will be automatically permitted in the case of bulk drugs, their intermediares and their formulations.• 3. Automatic approval for foreign technology agreements shall be given in case of all bulk drugs, their intermediares and formulations, except those produced by the use of recombinant DNA technology.• 4. Measures to give further impetus to R & D in the drug sector: • (a) Newly developed drugs would be put outside price control for a period of 10 years;”
Why relevant

Mentions policy measures to promote R&D in the drug sector and exceptions for recombinant DNA technology, indicating an environment that supports pharmaceutical innovation.

How to extend

A student could infer that novel delivery technologies (such as hydrogel-based systems) are plausible targets of contemporary pharmaceutical R&D to meet clinical needs.

Statement analysis

This statement analysis shows book citations, web sources and indirect clues. The first statement (S1) is open for preview.

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Statement analysis

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