Owing to their unique chemical and physical properties, hydrogels are attracting increasing
attention in both basic and translational biomedical studies. Although the classical hydrogels …

Short peptides are ubiquitous in nature. They are found as hormones, pheromones,
antibacterial and antifungal agents in innate immunity systems, toxins, and pesticides. But …

Load-bearing tissues, such as muscle and cartilage, exhibit high elasticity, high toughness
and fast recovery, but have different stiffness (with cartilage being significantly stiffer than …

The elastic storage and release of mechanical energy has been key to many developments
throughout the history of mankind. Resilience, absent hysteresis, has been an elusive goal …

As the crucial non-cellular component of tissues, the extracellular matrix (ECM) provides
both physical support and signaling regulation to cells. Some ECM molecules provide a …

Hydrogel-based devices are widely used as flexible electronics, biosensors, soft robots, and
intelligent human-machine interfaces. In these applications, high stretchability, low …

The mechanical properties of polymer gels devote to emerging devices and machines in
fields such as biomedical engineering, flexible bioelectronics, biomimetic actuators, and …

Polymer adhesion is ubiquitous in both the natural world and human technology. It is also a
complex multiscale phenomenon, such that the solution of adhesion problems requires a …

Stress concentration and hysteresis often occur in polymer hydrogels under large
deformation, affecting their mechanical properties, and durability. Here, a new spatial …

Hydrogels prepared via self-assembly offer scalable and tunable platforms for drug delivery
applications. Molecular-scale self-assembly leverages an interplay of attractive and …