Abstract
There is a high demand for hydrogels with multifunctional performance (a combination of adhesive, mechanical, and electrical properties) in biological, tissue engineering, robotics, and smart device applications. However, a majority of existing hydrogels are relatively rigid and brittle, with limited stretchability; this hinders their application in the emerging field of flexible devices. In this study, cheap and abundant potato residues were used with polyacrylamide (PAM) to fabricate a multifunctional hydrogel, and chitosan was used for the design of a three-dimentional (3D) network-structured hydrogel. The as-prepared hydrogels exhibited excellent stretchability, with an extension exceeding 900% and a recovery degree of over 99%. Due to the combination of physical and chemical cross-linking properties and the introduction of dopamine, the designed hydrogel exhibits a remarkable self-healing ability (80% mechanical recovery in 2 h), high tensile strength (0.75 MPa), and ultra-stretchability (900%). The resultant products offer superior properties compared to those of previously reported tough and self-healing hydrogels for wound adhesion. Chitosan and potato residues were used as scaffold materials for the hydrogels with excellent mechanical properties. In addition, in vitro experiments show that these hydrogels feature excellent antibacterial properties, effectively hindering the reproduction of bacteria. Moreover, the ternary hydrogel can act as a strain sensor with high sensitivity and a gauge factor of 1.6. The proposed strategy is expected to serve as a reference for the development of green and recyclable conductive polymers to fabricate hydrogels. The proposed hydrogel can also act as a suitable strain sensor for bio-friendly devices such as smart wearable electronic devices and/or for health monitoring.
Highlights
Polymer hydrogels can integrate multiple functions in one design, including toughness, viscosity, selfhealing, electrical conductivity, and responsiveness, widening the range of applications in tissue engineering, electronic skin, wound healing, drug release, and soft robotics [1, 2]
One percent waste potato residue solution, two percent chitosan solution, and PDA were added to the acrylamide to prepare a highly adhesive, selfrepairing, and biocompatible hydrogel
PAM is cross-linked with waste potato residues and chitosan through a pretreatment process involving a non-covalent reaction, providing the basic framework for the hydrogel
Summary
Polymer hydrogels can integrate multiple functions in one design, including toughness, viscosity, selfhealing, electrical conductivity, and responsiveness, widening the range of applications in tissue engineering, electronic skin, wound healing, drug release, and soft robotics [1, 2]. Liu et al developed an adhesive hydrogel with enhanced nucleobases that can be bonded through hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactions, metal complexes, π-π stacking, and cation-π interactions Such interactions allow the materials to adhere to various solid surfaces and biological tissues [21]. The mechanical strength of the PDA‒C‒S‒PAM hydrogel was as high as 0.75 MPa. the original resistance and the tensile properties could be restored after 120 min of repair that is critical for widening its industrial applications and reducing the negative environmental impact. The original resistance and the tensile properties could be restored after 120 min of repair that is critical for widening its industrial applications and reducing the negative environmental impact This hydrogel was found to exhibit an excellent electrical conductivity. | https://mc03.manuscriptcentral.com/friction conductivity, and antibacterial properties that increase its applicability in designing electronic wearable devices for monitoring human physiological and other health conditions
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