Hydrophobic Cross-linked Chains Regulate High Wet Tissue Adhesion Hydrogel with Toughness, Anti-Hydration for Dynamic Tissue Repair.

Hydrogel adhesion materials have been widely reported for tissue engineering repair applications, however, wet tissue surface moisture can reduce the wet-adhesion properties and mechanical strength of hydrogels limiting their application. Here, we constructed anti-hydration gelatin-acrylic acid-ethylene dimethacrylate (GAE) hydrogels with hydrophobic cross-linked chains. The prepared GAE hydrogel was soaked in PBS (3 days) with a volume change of 0.6 times of the original and the adhesive strength, young's modulus, toughness, and burst pressure were maintained by about 70% of the original. We used a simple and universal method to introduce hydrophobic chains as cross-linking points to prepare hydrogels with anti-hydration, toughness and high wet state adhesion. The hydrophobic cross-linked chains not only restrict the movement of molecular chains but also hinder the intrusion of water molecules. Anti-hydration GAE hydrogels exhibit good biocompatibility, slow drug release, and dynamic oral wet-state tissue repair properties. Therefore, the anti-hydration hydrogel had excellent toughness and wet tissue adhesion properties and good prospects for biological applications. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.