Dear Readers,

Welcome back to yet another edition of the Hydrogels newsletter.

Those who follow me on Twitter might’ve seen my super-long-detailed introspective analysis on my online writing journey. I’ll link it at the bottom of the newsletter if you’re interested.

TLDR: Twitter’s audience isn’t interested in detailed hydrogel threads, so hydrogel content will stay in this newsletter. Right now, I’m surveying interest in a science app and sharing my journey to build that app on Twitter.

In Brief

• A quick update on my Twitter content moving forward.

• Three latest papers about the engineering application of hydrogels.

Research Updates

Co-functional Group Conducting Hydrogels Inspired by Ligament for Flexible Electronic Devices

• The authors have developed a multifunctional conductive hydrogel inspired by the structure of the ligame

  nt, which is composed of collagen and polyacrylamide.

• It exhibits outstanding conductivity (52 mS/cm), ultra-stretchability (>2000%), self-adhesion, and antibacterial properties.

• The conductive hydrogel can be used to fabricate flexible supercapacitors (514.7 mF·cm^–2 at 0.25 mA·cm^–2 current density) and sensors that can detect different movements of the body.

• This invention has potential applications in smart wearable equipment, artificial bionic skin, tissue engineering, and wound dressings.

Fabrication of anti-freezing and self-healing nanocomposite hydrogels based on zwitterionic proline and cellulose nanocrystals

• The authors fabricated anti-freezing and self-healing nanocomposite hydrogels based on zwitterionic proline (ZP), a natural amino acid with high hydration capacity and frost resistance, into the cross-linked network structure of gellan gum/polyacrylic acid (GG/PAA).

• They have also incorporated cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) modified with polydopamine (PDA) into the hydrogel network to enhance the self-healing ability (~83%) and mechanical strength (2.7 MPa) of the hydrogels.

• The nanocomposite hydrogels with ZP and CNCs@PDA have excellent anti-freezing properties and can maintain high stress and self-healing efficiency even at −30 °C.

• Their zwitterionic proline based hydrogel can broaden the usage range of hydrogels and extend their application area in various fields.

Injectable Nanocomposite Hydrogels with the NIR-Triggered Low-Temperature Photothermal Effect and Low-Dose Antibiotic Release

• The authors have synthesized a hydrogel by cross-linking chitosan and hyaluronic acid (HA) with genipin, a natural cross-linking agent derived from gardenia fruit.

• The authors have shown that the chitosan/hyaluronic acid hydrogel has superior swelling ratio, water retention capacity, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and antimicrobial activity than the pure chitosan or HA hydrogels.

• The authors have tested the wound healing efficacy of the chitosan/hyaluronic acid hydrogel in a rat skin defect model, and found that it can promote wound closure, re-epithelialization, collagen deposition, angiogenesis, and anti-inflammatory response.

• The authors have concluded that the chitosan/hyaluronic acid hydrogel is a promising biomaterial for wound healing applications.

Image Of The Day

My Twitter Journey

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