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Title: Muscle-like fatigue-resistant hydrogels by mechanical training
Skeletal muscles possess the combinational properties of high fatigue resistance (1,000 J/m 2 ), high strength (1 MPa), low Young’s modulus (100 kPa), and high water content (70 to 80 wt %), which have not been achieved in synthetic hydrogels. The muscle-like properties are highly desirable for hydrogels’ nascent applications in load-bearing artificial tissues and soft devices. Here, we propose a strategy of mechanical training to achieve the aligned nanofibrillar architectures of skeletal muscles in synthetic hydrogels, resulting in the combinational muscle-like properties. These properties are obtained through the training-induced alignment of nanofibrils, without additional chemical modifications or additives. In situ confocal microscopy of the hydrogels’ fracturing processes reveals that the fatigue resistance results from the crack pinning by the aligned nanofibrils, which require much higher energy to fracture than the corresponding amorphous polymer chains. This strategy is particularly applicable for 3D-printed microstructures of hydrogels, in which we can achieve isotropically fatigue-resistant, strong yet compliant properties.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1661627
PAR ID:
10105488
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Volume:
116
Issue:
21
ISSN:
0027-8424
Page Range / eLocation ID:
10244 to 10249
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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