Mineral hydrogels have caught a lot of attention for their strong competency as artificial skin-like materials.Nonetheless,it remains a great difficulty in fulfilling in one hydrogel system a range of key functionalit...Mineral hydrogels have caught a lot of attention for their strong competency as artificial skin-like materials.Nonetheless,it remains a great difficulty in fulfilling in one hydrogel system a range of key functionalities that are needed for practical artificial skin applications,i.e.,to be biocompatible,strain-sensitive,ion-conductive,elastic and robust,anti-swelling,and anti-freezing.Here we present a such type of versatile hydrogel that is not only capable to deliver all the above-mentioned key functionalities but also highly stable.This novel hydrogel is constructed by introducing a gelatinous and amorphous multi-ionic biomineral(denoted as Mg-ACCP,containing Mg^(2+),Ca^(2+),CO_(3)^(2−),and PO_(4)^(3−))into the network of biocompatible polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)and sodium alginate(SA).The presence of Mg^(2+)and PO_(4)^(3−)in this hydrogel helps prohibit the crystallization of the biominerals,leading to significantly improved stability.The hydrogel thus obtained delivers excellent mechanical performance due to the chelation between the mineral ions and the organic matrix,and high sensitivity even to subtle pressure and strain applied,such as slight finger bending and gentle tapping.Furthermore,the novel hydrogel features high ionic conductivity,high resistance to swelling,and extraordinary anti-freezing property,holding great promise for applications in different practical scenarios,particularly in aqueous or cold environments.展开更多
基金supported by Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone Shenzhen Park Project:HZQB-KCZYB-2020030Health@InnoHK(Hong Kong Centre for Cerebro-cardiovascular Health Engineering(COCHE),Innovation and Technology Commission,the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China,the Innovation and Technology Commission of HKSAR through Hong Kong Branch of National Precious Metals Material Engineering Research Center(NPMM),the City University of Hong Kong(No.7005077).
文摘Mineral hydrogels have caught a lot of attention for their strong competency as artificial skin-like materials.Nonetheless,it remains a great difficulty in fulfilling in one hydrogel system a range of key functionalities that are needed for practical artificial skin applications,i.e.,to be biocompatible,strain-sensitive,ion-conductive,elastic and robust,anti-swelling,and anti-freezing.Here we present a such type of versatile hydrogel that is not only capable to deliver all the above-mentioned key functionalities but also highly stable.This novel hydrogel is constructed by introducing a gelatinous and amorphous multi-ionic biomineral(denoted as Mg-ACCP,containing Mg^(2+),Ca^(2+),CO_(3)^(2−),and PO_(4)^(3−))into the network of biocompatible polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)and sodium alginate(SA).The presence of Mg^(2+)and PO_(4)^(3−)in this hydrogel helps prohibit the crystallization of the biominerals,leading to significantly improved stability.The hydrogel thus obtained delivers excellent mechanical performance due to the chelation between the mineral ions and the organic matrix,and high sensitivity even to subtle pressure and strain applied,such as slight finger bending and gentle tapping.Furthermore,the novel hydrogel features high ionic conductivity,high resistance to swelling,and extraordinary anti-freezing property,holding great promise for applications in different practical scenarios,particularly in aqueous or cold environments.
