Supratough and stretchable hydrogels with time-space controllability for athletic rehabilitation

Abstract

There is a higher risk of injury for athletes when the intensive competition occurs. Minimally invasive surgery is still the first choice for athletes because of its small wound surface and fast recovery. In addition, knowing whether athletes recover in real time at the first time is beneficial for the athletes to return to the competition as soon as possible and maintain their peak performance. We developed a medical hydrogel to meet the dual needs of minimally invasive therapy and wearable testing. A novel ε-PL/PVP/MXene (εPM) hydrogel with spatio-temporal control and in situ enhancement was prepared by the concept of microchemical reaction cavity. MXene was introduced as the microchemical reaction center, and the dual effects of heat transport and microcatalysis were utilized to make the gel network uniform and moldability after injection in vivo, so as to realize the filling and treatment of irregular wounds. The hydrogel tissue is not only adhesive, self-healing and soft, but also super tough, keeping its shape stable under repeated stretches, intense hammering, continuous trampling, and even the extremely catastrophic impact of being run over 50 times by a car. At the same time, the hydrogel has excellent ionic conductivity (4.12 S/m) and sensing ability, which can record athletes' movement characteristics in real time and transmit them to doctors through wireless Bluetooth, so as to make accurate judgment on the recovery of health. This is the first exploration of the combination of hydrogel in the field of minimally invasive therapy and wearable devices, which opens up a new avenue for efficient minimally invasive therapy and accurate rehabilitation monitoring.