Soft, strong, tough, and durable protein-based fiber hydrogels
Wang M., Sun S., Dong G., Long F., Butcher JT.
Laboratory Study, published in Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (2023) — summary generated from the PubMed abstract.
Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.
- Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
- Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
- Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
- Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
- Emerging · Emerging topic under active research
This page is generated from the PubMed record. The Thai description is an automated summary of bibliographic fields and the abstract, not a full translation, and is not medical advice.
- Study type
- Laboratory Study
- Journal
- Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (2023)
- Reported sample size
- —
- Source database
- Europe PMC
- PMID
- 36791112
- PMCID
- PMC9974439
- DOI
- 10.1073/pnas.2213030120
- Citations
- 25
Abstract (original English)
Load-bearing soft tissues normally show J-shaped stress-strain behaviors with high compliance at low strains yet high strength at high strains. They have high water content but are still tough and durable. By contrast, naturally derived hydrogels are weak and brittle. Although hydrogels prepared from synthetic polymers can be strong and tough, they do not have the desired bioactivity for emerging biomedical applications. Here, we present a thermomechanical approach to replicate the combinational properties of soft tissues in protein-based photocrosslinkable hydrogels. As a demonstration, we create a gelatin methacryloyl fiber hydrogel with soft tissue-like mechanical properties, such as low Young's modulus (0.1 to 0.3 MPa), high strength (1.1 ± 0.2 MPa), high toughness (9,100 ± 2,200 J/m 3 ), and high fatigue resistance (2,300 ± 500 J/m 2 ). This hydrogel also resembles the biochemical and architectural properties of native extracellular matrix, which enables a fast formation of 3D interconnected cell meshwork inside hydrogels. The fiber architecture also regulates cellular mechanoresponse and supports cell remodeling inside hydrogels. The integration of tissue-like mechanical properties and bioactivity is highly desirable for the next-generation biomaterials and could advance emerging fields such as tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
What this study does not prove
- • This study does not prove SVF is an approved treatment or a replacement for standard care.
- • This is preclinical work; animal or laboratory results cannot be applied to humans.
Evidence level
Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.
How we grade evidenceBrowse all related research
Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.