Convergent synthesis of diversified reversible network leads to liquid metal-containing conductive hydrogel adhesives

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 2407
• Main Authors: Xu, Yong, Rothe, Rebecca, Voigt, Dagmar, Hauser, Sandra, Cui, Meiying, Miyagawa, Takuya, Patino Gaillez, Michelle, Kurth, Thomas, Bornhäuser, Martin, Pietzsch, Jens, Zhang, Yixin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 23.04.2021; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 14/1; 14/19; 14/28; 639/301/54/989; 639/301/54/990; 639/925/357/341; 639/925/357/995; Adhesive strength; Adhesives; Adhesives - chemical synthesis; Adhesives - chemistry; Adhesives - pharmacology; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemical synthesis; Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Bacillus subtilis - drug effects; Biocompatibility; Biocompatible Materials - chemical synthesis; Biocompatible Materials - chemistry; Biocompatible Materials - pharmacology; Biological properties; Biomaterials; Biomedical materials; Biomimetics; Cell Line; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Chemical bonds; Chemical synthesis; Convergence; Covalence; Electric Conductivity; Escherichia coli - drug effects; Functional groups; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hydrogels; Hydrogels - chemical synthesis; Hydrogels - chemistry; Hydrogels - pharmacology; Liquid metals; Macromolecules; Metals - chemistry; Mice; Microscopy, Electron; Mimicry; multidisciplinary; Multifunctional materials; Myoblasts - cytology; Myoblasts - drug effects; Networks; Polymers; Polymers - chemical synthesis; Polymers - chemistry; Polymers - pharmacology; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Shear thinning (liquids); Three dimensional printing; Tissue engineering; Viscoelasticity
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22675-2

Many features of extracellular matrices, e.g., self-healing, adhesiveness, viscoelasticity, and conductivity, are associated with the intricate networks composed of many different covalent and non-covalent chemical bonds. Whereas a reductionism approach would have the limitation to fully recapitulate various biological properties with simple chemical structures, mimicking such sophisticated networks by incorporating many different functional groups in a macromolecular system is synthetically challenging. Herein, we propose a strategy of convergent synthesis of complex polymer networks to produce biomimetic electroconductive liquid metal hydrogels. Four precursors could be individually synthesized in one to two reaction steps and characterized, then assembled to form hydrogel adhesives. The convergent synthesis allows us to combine materials of different natures to generate matrices with high adhesive strength, enhanced electroconductivity, good cytocompatibility in vitro and high biocompatibility in vivo. The reversible networks exhibit self-healing and shear-thinning properties, thus allowing for 3D printing and minimally invasive injection for in vivo experiments. The need for multifunctional materials for tissue engineering applications requires the development of multicomponent systems. Here, the authors report on the creation of a liquid metal-containing hydrogel with multiple covalent and noncovalent bonds to produce a tailorable, biocompatible biomaterial.