Research Highlight
Injectable tissue prosthesis
for instantaneous closed-loop rehabilitation
(Nature 2023)
We developed an injectable tissue prosthesis with instantaneous bidirectional electrical conduction in the neuromuscular system. The soft and injectable prosthesis is composed of a biocompatible hydrogel with unique phenylboratemediated multiple crosslinking, such as irreversible yet freely rearrangeable biphenyl bonds and reversible coordinate bonds with conductive gold nanoparticles formed in situ by cross-coupling. Closed-loop robot-assisted rehabilitation by injecting this prosthetic material is successfully demonstrated in the early stage of severe muscle injury in rats, and accelerated tissue repair is achieved in the later stage.
Adhesive bioelectronics
for sutureless
epicardial interfacing
(Nature Electronics, 2023)
Bioadhesive devices can be used to create conformable tissue–device interfaces without suturing. However, the development of such technology faces challenges related to the need for external stimuli or long periods of time for tissue adhesion, fatigue-related breakdown of the stretchable electrodes and the use of solid substrates with non-uniform surface coverage of the tissue. We report a bioelectronic patch that is capable of instantaneous and conformable tissue adhesion on a heart for precise cardiac monitoring.
Sticky and Strain‐Gradient Artificial Epineurium for Sutureless Nerve Repair in Rodents and Nonhuman Primates (Adv. Mater. 2024)
A sticky and strain-gradient artificial epineurium (SSGAE) that overcomes the most critically challenging aspect for realizing sutureless repair of severely injured nerves is presented. In this regard, the SSGAE with a skin-inspired hierarchical structure entailing strain-gradient layers, anisotropic Janus layers including hydrophobic top and hydrophilic bottom surfaces, and synergistic self-healing capabilities enables immediate and stable neurorrhaphy in both rodent and nonhuman primate models, indicating that the bioinspired materials strategy significantly contributes to translational medicine for effective peripheral nerve repair.