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Robust super-structured porous hydrogel enables bioadaptive repair of dynamic soft tissue

Author

Listed:
  • Siqi He

    (Sun Yat-sen University)

  • Weiwen Liang

    (Sun Yat-sen University)

  • Youchen Tang

    (Sun Yat-sen University)

  • Jinquan Zhang

    (Sun Yat-sen University)

  • Runxian Wang

    (Sun Yat-sen University)

  • Luna Quan

    (Sun Yat-sen University)

  • Yang Ouyang

    (Sun Yat-sen University)

  • Rongkang Huang

    (Sun Yat-sen University)

  • Ruoxu Dou

    (Sun Yat-sen University)

  • Dingcai Wu

    (Sun Yat-sen University)

Abstract

Well-orchestrated integration of multiple contradictory properties into a single material is crucial for dynamic soft tissue defect repair but remains challenging. Bioinspired by diaphragm, we have successfully developed a robust super-structured porous hydrogel with anisotropic skeleton and asymmetric porous surfaces via integrated molding. Thanks to synergistic toughening of anisotropic structure and Hofmeister effect of amino acid, our hydrogel achieves high tensile strength (22.2 MPa) and elastic modulus (32.4 MPa) for strong mechanical support, while maintaining excellent toughness (61.9 MJ m−3) and fatigue threshold (5.6 kJ m−2) against dynamic stretching during the early healing phase. The mechanical properties of hydrogel gradually decrease during the late healing phase, minimizing its restriction on physiological movements. In addition, diaphragm defect repair models on female rabbits demonstrate asymmetric porous surfaces can simultaneously prevent visceral adhesion and promote defect healing. Therefore, our hydrogel opens an attractive avenue for the construction of biomimetically hierarchical materials to address the stringent requirements of dynamic tissue defect repair.

Suggested Citation

  • Siqi He & Weiwen Liang & Youchen Tang & Jinquan Zhang & Runxian Wang & Luna Quan & Yang Ouyang & Rongkang Huang & Ruoxu Dou & Dingcai Wu, 2025. "Robust super-structured porous hydrogel enables bioadaptive repair of dynamic soft tissue," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-12, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-58062-4
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58062-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bin Xue & Zoobia Bashir & Yachong Guo & Wenting Yu & Wenxu Sun & Yiran Li & Yiyang Zhang & Meng Qin & Wei Wang & Yi Cao, 2023. "Strong, tough, rapid-recovery, and fatigue-resistant hydrogels made of picot peptide fibres," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Mutian Hua & Shuwang Wu & Yanfei Ma & Yusen Zhao & Zilin Chen & Imri Frenkel & Joseph Strzalka & Hua Zhou & Xinyuan Zhu & Ximin He, 2021. "Strong tough hydrogels via the synergy of freeze-casting and salting out," Nature, Nature, vol. 590(7847), pages 594-599, February.
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