Gels and hydrogels articles within Nature

Featured

  • Article |

    An injectable hydrogel for use as a scaffold to aid tissue repair is described, the material of which is conductive so that it can be used both for electrophysiological measurement and electrostimulation in closed-loop robot-assisted rehabilitation.

    • Subin Jin
    • , Heewon Choi
    •  & Mikyung Shin

  • Article |

    The introduction of chain entanglements into protein-based hydrogels yields hydrogels with high stiffness, high toughness, fast recovery and ultrahigh compressive strength, with mechanical properties close to those of cartilage.

    • Linglan Fu
    • , Lan Li
    •  & Hongbin Li

  • Article |

    A direct ink writing protocol for silica aerogels enables 3D printing of lightweight, miniaturized objects with complex shapes, with the possibility to easily add functionality by incorporating nanoparticles.

    • Shanyu Zhao
    • , Gilberto Siqueira
    •  & Wim J. Malfait

  • Article |

    A new strong, biocompatible and biodegradable double-sided tape can adhere to wet tissues and devices through a mechanism involving rapid water removal from the surface, swift hydrogen and electrostatic interactions, and covalent bonding.

    • Hyunwoo Yuk
    • , Claudia E. Varela
    •  & Xuanhe Zhao

  • Letter |

    Usually materials design focuses on attractive interactions, but here a hydrogel is described whose properties are dominated by electrostatic repulsion between negatively charged titanate nanosheets embedded within it; the material, inspired by articular cartilage, deforms easily when sheared parallel to the sheets but resists compressive forces applied orthogonally.

    • Mingjie Liu
    • , Yasuhiro Ishida
    •  & Takuzo Aida

  • News & Views |

    Ion gels are composites of ionic liquids and polymers. Free-standing forms of ion gels have now been made that can be neatly cut with a razor blade and stuck onto semiconductor materials to make transistors.

    • Masashi Kawasaki
    •  & Yoshihiro Iwasa

  • News & Views |

    Hydrogels have many potential applications, but their mechanical strength is low. By simultaneously crosslinking two kinds of polymers in different ways, a highly fracture-resistant hydrogel has been made. See Letter p.133

    • Kenneth R. Shull

  • Letter |

    Hydrogels with improved mechanical properties, made by combining polymer networks with ionic and covalent crosslinks, should expand the scope of applications, and may serve as model systems to explore mechanisms of deformation and energy dissipation.

    • Jeong-Yun Sun
    • , Xuanhe Zhao
    •  & Zhigang Suo

  • News & Views |

    A combination of two light-induced reactions has been used to attach peptides to a polymeric gel, and then to detach them from it. This feat opens up opportunities for studying the effects of signalling molecules on cell behaviour in vitro.

    • Matthias P. Lutolf

  • Letter |

    In the search to reduce our dependency on fossil-fuel energy, new plastic materials that are less dependent on petroleum are being developed, with water-based gels — hydrogels — representing one possible solution. Here, a mixture of water, 3% clay and a tiny amount of a special organic binder is shown to form a transparent hydrogel that can be moulded into shape-persistent, free-standing objects and that rapidly and completely self-heals when damaged.

    • Qigang Wang
    • , Justin L. Mynar
    •  & Takuzo Aida

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