Charge balance transition enabled Janus hydrogel for robust wet-tissue adhesion and anti-postoperative adhesion

Janus hydrogels have recently emerged as promising bioadhesives for efficient wet-tissue adhesion and anti-postoperative adhesion. However, existing Janus hydrogel adhesives normally need varied chemical designs of different layers to achieve asymmetric adhesive/anti-adhesive properties on either si...

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Main Authors: Wan Peng, Youjin Lai, Yefeng Jiang, Yang Zhang, Zilin Kan, Chuanchao Dai, Jian Shen, Pingsheng Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2025-10-01
Series:Bioactive Materials
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452199X25002348
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author Wan Peng
Youjin Lai
Yefeng Jiang
Yang Zhang
Zilin Kan
Chuanchao Dai
Jian Shen
Pingsheng Liu
author_facet Wan Peng
Youjin Lai
Yefeng Jiang
Yang Zhang
Zilin Kan
Chuanchao Dai
Jian Shen
Pingsheng Liu
author_sort Wan Peng
collection DOAJ
description Janus hydrogels have recently emerged as promising bioadhesives for efficient wet-tissue adhesion and anti-postoperative adhesion. However, existing Janus hydrogel adhesives normally need varied chemical designs of different layers to achieve asymmetric adhesive/anti-adhesive properties on either side. Here, we present a new strategy to construct an adhesive/anti-adhesive Janus hydrogel tissue patch accomplished by switching the charge-balance of the hydrogel layers with similar compositions (anionic carboxyl polymer and cationic ε-polylysine, EPL). The bottom layer (AL) is formed under acidic condition (pH 2.85), featuring abundant -COOH and -NH3+ residues, which provide rapid & robust adhesion to diverse wet tissues (up to 100.4 kPa) with high bursting pressure (362.5 mmHg), while the top layer (MLT) is formed under neutral condition, achieving a balanced charge between -COOH/-NH2 and -COO−/−NH3+ groups, which mimic the overall electroneutral structure of zwitterionic materials for efficient anti-postoperative tissue adhesion (up to 6 weeks). Further in vivo studies validated that the integrated AL/MLT hydrogel patch is biodegradable (within 10 weeks), exhibits broad-spectrum antibacterial activity (up to 99.8 %), and outperforms the commercial fibrin gel in sutureless wound sealing, rat gastric tissue repair, and anti-postoperative adhesion. This strategy may open a new avenue to develop adhesive/anti-adhesive Janus bioadhesives for efficient non-invasive internal tissue sealing and promoted wound healing.
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spelling doaj-art-5408cf20d5e849bf9bcb942c8544964d2025-08-24T05:13:41ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Bioactive Materials2452-199X2025-10-015212313810.1016/j.bioactmat.2025.06.006Charge balance transition enabled Janus hydrogel for robust wet-tissue adhesion and anti-postoperative adhesionWan Peng0Youjin Lai1Yefeng Jiang2Yang Zhang3Zilin Kan4Chuanchao Dai5Jian Shen6Pingsheng Liu7Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Bio-functional Materials, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, PR China; Department of College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 210023, PR ChinaJiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Bio-functional Materials, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, PR ChinaJiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Bio-functional Materials, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, PR ChinaJiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Bio-functional Materials, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, PR ChinaJiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Bio-functional Materials, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, PR ChinaDepartment of College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 210023, PR ChinaJiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Bio-functional Materials, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, PR ChinaJiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Bio-functional Materials, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, PR China; Corresponding author.Janus hydrogels have recently emerged as promising bioadhesives for efficient wet-tissue adhesion and anti-postoperative adhesion. However, existing Janus hydrogel adhesives normally need varied chemical designs of different layers to achieve asymmetric adhesive/anti-adhesive properties on either side. Here, we present a new strategy to construct an adhesive/anti-adhesive Janus hydrogel tissue patch accomplished by switching the charge-balance of the hydrogel layers with similar compositions (anionic carboxyl polymer and cationic ε-polylysine, EPL). The bottom layer (AL) is formed under acidic condition (pH 2.85), featuring abundant -COOH and -NH3+ residues, which provide rapid & robust adhesion to diverse wet tissues (up to 100.4 kPa) with high bursting pressure (362.5 mmHg), while the top layer (MLT) is formed under neutral condition, achieving a balanced charge between -COOH/-NH2 and -COO−/−NH3+ groups, which mimic the overall electroneutral structure of zwitterionic materials for efficient anti-postoperative tissue adhesion (up to 6 weeks). Further in vivo studies validated that the integrated AL/MLT hydrogel patch is biodegradable (within 10 weeks), exhibits broad-spectrum antibacterial activity (up to 99.8 %), and outperforms the commercial fibrin gel in sutureless wound sealing, rat gastric tissue repair, and anti-postoperative adhesion. This strategy may open a new avenue to develop adhesive/anti-adhesive Janus bioadhesives for efficient non-invasive internal tissue sealing and promoted wound healing.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452199X25002348
spellingShingle Wan Peng
Youjin Lai
Yefeng Jiang
Yang Zhang
Zilin Kan
Chuanchao Dai
Jian Shen
Pingsheng Liu
Charge balance transition enabled Janus hydrogel for robust wet-tissue adhesion and anti-postoperative adhesion
Bioactive Materials
title Charge balance transition enabled Janus hydrogel for robust wet-tissue adhesion and anti-postoperative adhesion
title_full Charge balance transition enabled Janus hydrogel for robust wet-tissue adhesion and anti-postoperative adhesion
title_fullStr Charge balance transition enabled Janus hydrogel for robust wet-tissue adhesion and anti-postoperative adhesion
title_full_unstemmed Charge balance transition enabled Janus hydrogel for robust wet-tissue adhesion and anti-postoperative adhesion
title_short Charge balance transition enabled Janus hydrogel for robust wet-tissue adhesion and anti-postoperative adhesion
title_sort charge balance transition enabled janus hydrogel for robust wet tissue adhesion and anti postoperative adhesion
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452199X25002348
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AT jianshen chargebalancetransitionenabledjanushydrogelforrobustwettissueadhesionandantipostoperativeadhesion
AT pingshengliu chargebalancetransitionenabledjanushydrogelforrobustwettissueadhesionandantipostoperativeadhesion