Strong Tough Hydrogel with Regional Programmable Mechanical Properties via Universal Physical Directional Anneal‐Casting Strategy for Bioengineering
Engineering tissue‐like hydrogels with tailored mechanical properties and matching water contents is essential for biomimetic organ platforms in both ex vivo and in vivo biomedical applications. Achieving this goal is particularly challenging due to the need for a green, straightforward, and univers...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley-VCH
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Small Structures |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.202400582 |
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| author | He Zhu Ziyi Dai Yican Yang Xiaoli Fan Cheng Wang Yang Zhang Rong Cai Kai Qian |
| author_facet | He Zhu Ziyi Dai Yican Yang Xiaoli Fan Cheng Wang Yang Zhang Rong Cai Kai Qian |
| author_sort | He Zhu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Engineering tissue‐like hydrogels with tailored mechanical properties and matching water contents is essential for biomimetic organ platforms in both ex vivo and in vivo biomedical applications. Achieving this goal is particularly challenging due to the need for a green, straightforward, and universally applicable approach to mimic various tissues with specific hydrogels. Herein, a universal physical one‐step directional anneal‐casting strategy for anisotropic water evaporation is presented to produce hierarchical anisotropic poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel with tunable Young's modulus (≈0.13–77.2 MPa) in a wide range. As a typical example, the ultimate stress, toughness, fracture energy, and fatigue threshold of strong tough poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels can be up to 31.8 MPa, 45.7 MJ m−3, 568.6 kJ m−2, and 407.8 J m−2 at ≈208% strain with controllable water content (≈20–80%) without compromising their toughness. Integral to our approach is the capability for localized control of mechanical properties within the same hydrogel unit, allowing for distinct functional characteristics in different regions of the hydrogel. Furthermore, the versatility of our strategy extends to various other hydrogel systems, such as polyacrylamide and alginate, broadening its applicability in the fields of bioelectronics and biomedical engineering, including the development of physiological signal acquisition devices and artificial implantable electronic ligaments. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e62d2066bfa243fb81d70ae9e37068e8 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2688-4062 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Wiley-VCH |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Small Structures |
| spelling | doaj-art-e62d2066bfa243fb81d70ae9e37068e82025-08-20T03:33:07ZengWiley-VCHSmall Structures2688-40622025-07-0167n/an/a10.1002/sstr.202400582Strong Tough Hydrogel with Regional Programmable Mechanical Properties via Universal Physical Directional Anneal‐Casting Strategy for BioengineeringHe Zhu0Ziyi Dai1Yican Yang2Xiaoli Fan3Cheng Wang4Yang Zhang5Rong Cai6Kai Qian7School of Integrated Circuits Shandong University Jinan 250101 ChinaSchool of Integrated Circuits Shandong University Jinan 250101 ChinaRehabilitation Center Qilu Hospital of Shandong University Jinan 250012 ChinaSchool of Integrated Circuits Shandong University Jinan 250101 ChinaDepartment of Orthopaedic Qilu Hospital of Shandong University Jinan 250012 ChinaRehabilitation and Physical Therapy Department Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated Hospital Jinan 250012 ChinaSchool of Pharmaceutical Sciences Shandong University Jinan 250012 ChinaSchool of Integrated Circuits Shandong University Jinan 250101 ChinaEngineering tissue‐like hydrogels with tailored mechanical properties and matching water contents is essential for biomimetic organ platforms in both ex vivo and in vivo biomedical applications. Achieving this goal is particularly challenging due to the need for a green, straightforward, and universally applicable approach to mimic various tissues with specific hydrogels. Herein, a universal physical one‐step directional anneal‐casting strategy for anisotropic water evaporation is presented to produce hierarchical anisotropic poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel with tunable Young's modulus (≈0.13–77.2 MPa) in a wide range. As a typical example, the ultimate stress, toughness, fracture energy, and fatigue threshold of strong tough poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels can be up to 31.8 MPa, 45.7 MJ m−3, 568.6 kJ m−2, and 407.8 J m−2 at ≈208% strain with controllable water content (≈20–80%) without compromising their toughness. Integral to our approach is the capability for localized control of mechanical properties within the same hydrogel unit, allowing for distinct functional characteristics in different regions of the hydrogel. Furthermore, the versatility of our strategy extends to various other hydrogel systems, such as polyacrylamide and alginate, broadening its applicability in the fields of bioelectronics and biomedical engineering, including the development of physiological signal acquisition devices and artificial implantable electronic ligaments.https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.202400582bioelectronicsbiomedical engineeringdirectional anneal castingprogrammable mechanical propertiesstrong tough hydrogels |
| spellingShingle | He Zhu Ziyi Dai Yican Yang Xiaoli Fan Cheng Wang Yang Zhang Rong Cai Kai Qian Strong Tough Hydrogel with Regional Programmable Mechanical Properties via Universal Physical Directional Anneal‐Casting Strategy for Bioengineering Small Structures bioelectronics biomedical engineering directional anneal casting programmable mechanical properties strong tough hydrogels |
| title | Strong Tough Hydrogel with Regional Programmable Mechanical Properties via Universal Physical Directional Anneal‐Casting Strategy for Bioengineering |
| title_full | Strong Tough Hydrogel with Regional Programmable Mechanical Properties via Universal Physical Directional Anneal‐Casting Strategy for Bioengineering |
| title_fullStr | Strong Tough Hydrogel with Regional Programmable Mechanical Properties via Universal Physical Directional Anneal‐Casting Strategy for Bioengineering |
| title_full_unstemmed | Strong Tough Hydrogel with Regional Programmable Mechanical Properties via Universal Physical Directional Anneal‐Casting Strategy for Bioengineering |
| title_short | Strong Tough Hydrogel with Regional Programmable Mechanical Properties via Universal Physical Directional Anneal‐Casting Strategy for Bioengineering |
| title_sort | strong tough hydrogel with regional programmable mechanical properties via universal physical directional anneal casting strategy for bioengineering |
| topic | bioelectronics biomedical engineering directional anneal casting programmable mechanical properties strong tough hydrogels |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.202400582 |
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