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Coacervation-triggered hierarchically assembled hydrogels with application as surgical sealant
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Coacervation-triggered hierarchically assembled hydrogels with application as surgical sealant

Zhongwei Guo, Zunghang Wei and Wei Sun
Biofabrication, v 15(3), 035021
01 Jul 2023
PMID: 37285837
url
https://doi.org/10.1088/1758-5090/acdc55View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Engineering, Biomedical Materials Science, Biomaterials Science & Technology Engineering Materials Science Technology
Adhesive hydrogels possess great potential to be explored as tissue adhesives, surgical sealants, and hemostats. However, it has been a great challenge to develop hydrogels that can function rapidly and controllably on wet, dynamic biological tissues. Inspired by polyphenol chemistry, we introduce a coacervation-triggered shaping strategy that enables the hierarchical assembly of recombinant human collagen (RHC) and tannic acid (TA). The conformation of the RHC and TA aggregates is controlled to evolve from granular to web-like states, accompanied by the significant enhancement of mechanical and adhesion performance. The coacervation and assembly process is driven by intermolecular interactions, especially hydrogen bonding between RHC and TA. Benefitting from the multifaceted nature of polyphenol chemistry, the hierarchically assembled hydrogels revealed excellent properties as surgical sealing materials, including fast gelation time (within 10 s), clotting time (within 60 s), ultrastretchability (strain >10 000%), and tough adhesion (adhesive strength >250 kPa). In vivo experiments demonstrated complete sealing of severely leaking heart and liver tissues with the assistance of in situ formed hydrogels during 7 d of follow-up. This work presents a highly promising hydrogel-based surgical sealant in wet and dynamic biological environments for future biomedical applications.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Engineering, Biomedical
Materials Science, Biomaterials
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