Paintable and Rapidly Bondable Conductive Hydrogels as Therapeutic Cardiac Patches

In recent years, cardiac patches have been developed for the treatment of myocardial infarction. However, the fixation approaches onto the tissue through suture or phototriggered reaction inevitably cause new tissue damage. Herein, a paintable hydrogel is constructed based on Fe³⁺‐triggered simultaneous polymerization of covalently linked pyrrole and dopamine in the hyperbranched chains where the in situ formed conductive polypyrrole also uniquely serves to crosslink network. This conductive and adhesive hydrogel can be conveniently painted as a patch onto the heart surface without adverse liquid leakage. The functional patch whose conductivity is equivalent to that of normal myocardium is strongly bonded to the beating heart within 4 weeks, accordingly efficiently boosting the transmission of electrophysiological signals. Eventually, the reconstruction of cardiac function and revascularization of the infarct myocardium are remarkably improved. The translatable suture‐free strategy reported in this work is promising to address the human clinical challenges in cardiac tissue engineering.     

可注射原位凝胶的制备及性能表征

以聚琥珀酰亚胺(PSI)为原料,利用酰亚胺基开环反应,首先制备得到α,β-聚(N-羟乙基)-DL-天门冬酰胺(PHEA),再与丙烯酰氯反应,制备得到接枝丙烯酰胺基α,β-聚(N-羟乙基)-DL-天门冬酰胺(PHA).通过FT-IR、NMR对其结构进行了表征.这种大分子单体的溶液可在人体温度下发生原位的交联反应,形成凝胶.可通过改变接枝率、大分子单体浓度等因素控制凝胶化时间.当选用质量浓度为0.1g/mL的PHA1#(接枝率为19.6%)单体、交联剂质量浓度为4mg/mL、引发剂浓度为20mmol/L时,凝胶化时间为90s.该凝胶具有可注射性和疏松的大孔结构,并且凝胶化时间可控,在模拟体液中有轻微溶胀,是较理想的治疗干眼症注射式材料.     

Room-Temperature-Formed PEDOT:PSS Hydrogels Enable Injectable,Soft, and Healable Organic Bioelectronics

There is an increasing need to develop conducting hydrogels for bioelectronic applications. In particular, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) hydrogels have become a research hotspot due to their excellent biocompatibility and stability. However, injectable PEDOT:PSS hydrogels have been rarely reported. Such syringe-injectable hydrogels are highly desirable for minimally invasive biomedical therapeutics. Here, an approach is demonstrated to develop injectable PEDOT:PSS hydrogels by taking advantage of the room-temperature gelation property of PEDOT:PSS. These PEDOT:PSS hydrogels form spontaneously after syringe injection of the PEDOT:PSS suspension into the desired location, without the need of any additional treatments. A facile strategy is also presented for large-scale production of injectable PEDOT:PSS hydrogel fibers at room temperature. Finally, it is demonstrated that these room-temperature-formed PEDOT:PSS hydrogels (RT-PEDOT:PSS hydrogel) and hydrogel fibers can be used for the development of soft and self-healable hydrogel bioelectronic devices.     

Carbon Dots-Based Ultrastretchable and Conductive Hydrogels for High-Performance Tactile Sensors and Self-Powered Electronic Skin

Smart tactile sensing materials have excellent development prospects, including wearable health-monitoring equipment and energy collection. Hydrogels have received extensive attention in tactile sensing owing to their transparency and high elasticity. In this study, highly crosslinked hydrogels are fabricated by chemically crosslinking polyacrylamide with lithium magnesium silicate and decorated with carbon quantum dots. Magnesium lithium silicate provides abundant covalent bonds and improves the mechanical properties of the hydrogels. The luminescent properties endowed by the carbon dots further broaden the application of hydrogels for realizing flexible electronics. The hydrogel-based strain sensor exhibits excellent sensitivity (gauge factor 2.6), a broad strain response range (0–2000%), good cyclicity, and durability (1250). Strain sensors can be used to detect human motions. More importantly, the hydrogel can also be used as a flexible self-supporting triboelectric electrode for effectively detecting pressure in the range of 1–25 N and delivering a short-circuit current (I_SC) of 2.6 µA, open-circuit voltage (V_OC) of 115 V, and short-circuit transfer charge (Q_SC) of 29 nC. The results reveal new possibilities for human–computer interactions and electronic robot skins.     

具有可调溶胀性能的纤维素基温敏水凝胶

基于纤维素的水凝胶用途广泛,但其溶胀调控规律少见报道。文中以羟丙基甲基纤维素(HPMC)和羟乙基纤维素(HEC)为原料,以环氧氯丙烷(ECH)为交联剂,制备了系列纤维素基温敏水凝胶,研究了在温度作用下HPMC及ECH含量、p H、无机盐对水凝胶溶胀性能的影响。结果表明,制备的纤维素基水凝胶具有随温度变化可调的溶胀性能;HPMC含量越高,水凝胶收缩能力越强;ECH含量越高,水凝胶收缩能力越弱;达到溶胀平衡的水凝胶具有良好的力学性能以及p H和无机盐稳定性。     

Injectable hydrogel wound dressing based on strontium ion cross-linked starch

Severe skin wounds cause great problems and sufferings to patients. In this study, an injectable wound dressing based on strontium ion cross-linked starch hydrogel (SSH) was developed and evaluated. The good inject-ability of SSH made it easy to be delivered onto the wound surface. The good tissue adhesiveness of SSH ensured a firm protection of the wound. Besides, SSH supported the proliferation of NIH/3T3 fibroblasts and facilitated the migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Importantly, SSH exhibited strong antibacterial effects on Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), which could prevent wound infection. These results demonstrate that SSH is a promising wound dressing material for promoting wound healing.     

Stretchable All‐Gel‐State Fiber‐Shaped Supercapacitors Enabled by Macromolecularly Interconnected 3D Graphene/Nanostructured Conductive Polymer Hydrogels

Nanostructured conductive polymer hydrogels (CPHs) have been extensively applied in energy storage owing to their advantageous features, such as excellent electrochemical activity and relatively high electrical conductivity, yet the fabrication of self‐standing and flexible electrode‐based CPHs is still hampered by their limited mechanical properties. Herein, macromolecularly interconnected 3D graphene/nanostructured CPH is synthesized via self‐assembly of CPHs and graphene oxide macrostructures. The 3D hybrid hydrogel shows uniform interconnectivity and enhanced mechanical properties due to the strong macromolecular interaction between the CPHs and graphene, thus greatly reducing aggregation in the fiber‐shaping process. A proof‐of‐concept all‐gel‐state fibrous supercapacitor based on the 3D polyaniline/graphene hydrogel is fabricated to demonstrate the outstanding flexibility and mouldability, as well as superior electrochemical properties enabled by this 3D hybrid hydrogel design. The proposed device can achieve a large strain (up to ≈40%), and deliver a remarkable volumetric energy density of 8.80 mWh cm^?3 (at power density of 30.77 mW cm^?3), outperforming many fiber‐shaped supercapacitors reported previously. The all‐hydrogel design opens up opportunities in the fabrication of next‐generation wearable and portable electronics.     

Reduced Graphene Oxide‐GelMA Hybrid Hydrogels as Scaffolds for Cardiac Tissue Engineering

Biomaterials currently used in cardiac tissue engineering have certain limitations, such as lack of electrical conductivity and appropriate mechanical properties, which are two parameters playing a key role in regulating cardiac cell behavior. Here, the myocardial tissue constructs are engineered based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO)‐incorporated gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hybrid hydrogels. The incorporation of rGO into the GelMA matrix significantly enhances the electrical conductivity and mechanical properties of the material. Moreover, cells cultured on composite rGO‐GelMA scaffolds exhibit better biological activities such as cell viability, proliferation, and maturation compared to ones cultured on GelMA hydrogels. Cardiomyocytes show stronger contractility and faster spontaneous beating rate on rGO‐GelMA hydrogel sheets compared to those on pristine GelMA hydrogels, as well as GO‐GelMA hydrogel sheets with similar mechanical property and particle concentration. Our strategy of integrating rGO within a biocompatible hydrogel is expected to be broadly applicable for future biomaterial designs to improve tissue engineering outcomes. The engineered cardiac tissue constructs using rGO incorporated hybrid hydrogels can potentially provide high‐fidelity tissue models for drug studies and the investigations of cardiac tissue development and/or disease processes in vitro.     

石墨烯透明导电薄膜的研究现状及应用前景

简要概述了石墨烯透明导电薄膜的结构与性质、几种常见的石墨烯透明导电薄膜的制备方法以及潜在应用,对石墨烯透明导电薄膜的研究现状进行了评述。最后,就目前石墨烯透明导电薄膜研究中所面临的问题进行了讨论,并展望了其应用前景与发展趋势。     

PEGDA/NVP水凝胶支架的制备及力学性能

以过硫酸胺(APS)氧化-还原体系为引发体系,通过活性自由基溶液聚合法制备了交联网状聚乙二醇双丙烯酸酯(PEGDA)/N-乙烯基吡咯烷酮(NVP)共聚物水凝胶支架。研究结果表明,将亲水组分NVP引入到聚合物中,可提高支架材料的亲水性,改善水凝胶降解速度,NVP的加入有效地降低了PEGDA的刚度,加强了材料的压缩屈服应变力,使得支架的柔韧性能得到很好的改善。     

Injectable and Pathogen‐Mimicking Hydrogels for Enhanced Protective Immunity against Emerging and Highly Pathogenic Influenza Virus

Seasonal emerging infectious diseases such as influenza A impose substantial risk and need new translational strategies to achieve active immunomodulation. Here, a novel injectable pathogen‐mimicking hydrogel (iPMH) that can enhance both cellular and humoral immune responses is suggested. By the help of poly(γ‐glutamic acid) that has abundant carboxylate groups and dispersion helper function, hydrophobic immunostimulatory 3‐O‐desacyl‐4′‐monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) molecules and viral antigens (PR8, W150) can be successfully combined as pathogen‐mimicking adjuvants. Polyelectrolyte complex between the poly(γ‐glutamic acid)‐based adjuvants and collagens generate in situ gel‐forming hydrogel at physiological temperature. When the iPMH are immunized, they act as a pathogen‐mimicking (MPLA, H1N1, H5N1) immune priming center and a depot for continuous stimulation of immune system, resulting in the induction of high levels (8.5 times higher) of antigen‐specific IgG titers in the sera of mice and the increased number of IFN‐γ‐producing cells (7.3 times higher) compared with those in the groups immunized with antigen plus clinically used aluminum gels. Following the intranasal infection of the mouse adapted virus (emerging infectious 2009 H1N1 and highly pathogenic 2006 H5N1) at 50 times the 50% lethal dose, the mice immunized with viral antigens plus iPMH exhibit 100% protective immunity against lethal virus challenge.     

纳米导电纤维与导电炭黑填充PVC复合材料的电性能研究

对纳米导电纤维(nano-F)及导电炭黑（HG－CB）填充PCV复合材料的电性能进行了研究,当nano-F和HG－CB的填充量分别为20,10份时,复合材料的电阻率急剧下降,其用量继续增加,材料电阻率变化不大。nano-F填充复合材料在20－120℃范围内电阻率基本不变,具有高的电阻稳定性,HG－CB填充复合材料在20－60℃范围内随温度升高阻率逐渐增大,之后随温度继续升高电阻率开始下降,nano-F填充复合材料的伏安特性在不同温度下为欧姆线性关系,而HGC－CB填充复合材料的伏安特性比较复杂。     

Ordered‐Assembly Conductive Nanowires Array with Tunable Polymeric Structure for Specific Organic Vapor Detection

An artificial organic vapor sensor based on a finite number of 1D nanowires arrays can provide a strategy to allow classification and identification of different analytes with high efficiency, but fabricating a 1D nanowires array is challenging. Here, a coaxial Ag/polymer nanowires array is prepared as an organic vapor sensor with specific recognition, using a strategy combining superwettability‐based nanofabrication and polymeric swelling‐induced resistance change. Such organic vapor sensor containing commercial polymers can successfully classify and identify various organic vapors with good separation efficiency. An Ag/polymer nanowires array with synthetic polyethersulfone polymers is also fabricated, through molecular structure modification of the polymers, to distinguish the similar organic vapors of methanol and ethanol. Theoretical simulation results demonstrate introduction of specific molecular interaction between the designed polymers and organic vapors can improve the specific recognition performance of the sensors.