Strong, tough, rapid-recovery, and fatigue-resistant hydrogels made of picot peptide fibres
Abstract Hydrogels are promising soft materials as tissue engineering scaffolds, stretchable sensors, and soft robotics. Yet, it remains challenging to develop synthetic hydrogels with mechanical stability and durability similar to those of the connective tissues. Many of the necessary mechanical pr...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38280-4 |
| _version_ | 1797832009579495424 |
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| author | Bin Xue Zoobia Bashir Yachong Guo Wenting Yu Wenxu Sun Yiran Li Yiyang Zhang Meng Qin Wei Wang Yi Cao |
| author_facet | Bin Xue Zoobia Bashir Yachong Guo Wenting Yu Wenxu Sun Yiran Li Yiyang Zhang Meng Qin Wei Wang Yi Cao |
| author_sort | Bin Xue |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Hydrogels are promising soft materials as tissue engineering scaffolds, stretchable sensors, and soft robotics. Yet, it remains challenging to develop synthetic hydrogels with mechanical stability and durability similar to those of the connective tissues. Many of the necessary mechanical properties, such as high strength, high toughness, rapid recovery, and high fatigue resistance, generally cannot be established together using conventional polymer networks. Here we present a type of hydrogels comprising hierarchical structures of picot fibres made of copper-bound self-assembling peptide strands with zipped flexible hidden length. The redundant hidden lengths allow the fibres to be extended to dissipate mechanical load without reducing network connectivity, making the hydrogels robust against damage. The hydrogels possess high strength, good toughness, high fatigue threshold, and rapid recovery, comparable to or even outperforming those of articular cartilage. Our study highlights the unique possibility of tailoring hydrogel network structures at the molecular level to improve their mechanical performance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T14:00:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-318cb485ea6e4251abfc9b3979c35b70 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T14:00:52Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-318cb485ea6e4251abfc9b3979c35b702023-05-07T11:17:01ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232023-05-0114111010.1038/s41467-023-38280-4Strong, tough, rapid-recovery, and fatigue-resistant hydrogels made of picot peptide fibresBin Xue0Zoobia Bashir1Yachong Guo2Wenting Yu3Wenxu Sun4Yiran Li5Yiyang Zhang6Meng Qin7Wei Wang8Yi Cao9Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructure, Department of Physics, Nanjing UniversityCollaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructure, Department of Physics, Nanjing UniversityKuang Yaming Honors School, Nanjing UniversityCollaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructure, Department of Physics, Nanjing UniversityCollaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructure, Department of Physics, Nanjing UniversityCollaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructure, Department of Physics, Nanjing UniversityCollaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructure, Department of Physics, Nanjing UniversityCollaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructure, Department of Physics, Nanjing UniversityCollaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructure, Department of Physics, Nanjing UniversityCollaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructure, Department of Physics, Nanjing UniversityAbstract Hydrogels are promising soft materials as tissue engineering scaffolds, stretchable sensors, and soft robotics. Yet, it remains challenging to develop synthetic hydrogels with mechanical stability and durability similar to those of the connective tissues. Many of the necessary mechanical properties, such as high strength, high toughness, rapid recovery, and high fatigue resistance, generally cannot be established together using conventional polymer networks. Here we present a type of hydrogels comprising hierarchical structures of picot fibres made of copper-bound self-assembling peptide strands with zipped flexible hidden length. The redundant hidden lengths allow the fibres to be extended to dissipate mechanical load without reducing network connectivity, making the hydrogels robust against damage. The hydrogels possess high strength, good toughness, high fatigue threshold, and rapid recovery, comparable to or even outperforming those of articular cartilage. Our study highlights the unique possibility of tailoring hydrogel network structures at the molecular level to improve their mechanical performance.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38280-4 |
| spellingShingle | Bin Xue Zoobia Bashir Yachong Guo Wenting Yu Wenxu Sun Yiran Li Yiyang Zhang Meng Qin Wei Wang Yi Cao Strong, tough, rapid-recovery, and fatigue-resistant hydrogels made of picot peptide fibres Nature Communications |
| title | Strong, tough, rapid-recovery, and fatigue-resistant hydrogels made of picot peptide fibres |
| title_full | Strong, tough, rapid-recovery, and fatigue-resistant hydrogels made of picot peptide fibres |
| title_fullStr | Strong, tough, rapid-recovery, and fatigue-resistant hydrogels made of picot peptide fibres |
| title_full_unstemmed | Strong, tough, rapid-recovery, and fatigue-resistant hydrogels made of picot peptide fibres |
| title_short | Strong, tough, rapid-recovery, and fatigue-resistant hydrogels made of picot peptide fibres |
| title_sort | strong tough rapid recovery and fatigue resistant hydrogels made of picot peptide fibres |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38280-4 |
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