Macroporous Adhesive Nano-Enabled Hydrogels Generated from Air-in-Water Emulsions

Developing nanocomposite hydrogel with multi-functions including adjustable mechanical property, tissue-adhesion, and blood coagulation property to accelerate wound healing is highly desirable in surgical application. Here a macroporous adhesive nano-enabled hydrogel constructed from gelatin methacryloyl stabilized air-in-water emulsions incorporated with dopamine-grafted-gelatin (GelDA) and Laponite nanoclay is reported. The hydrogel exhibits interconnected macroporous structure. The physical/chemical cross-linked network formed among the various components contributes to the good mechanical strength of hydrogel, which could be further regulated by adjusting the concentration of Laponite nanoclay. Furthermore, the nanocomposite macroporous hydrogel is endowed with self-healing properties and tissue adhesion by the intermolecular hydrogen bonds, ionic interactions among Laponite nanoclay and polymers, as well as the catechol functional groups. The in vitro studies demonstrate that the macroporous hydrogel has good biocompatibility and could significantly reduce blood clotting time, which is expected to be applied for the rapid sealing and hemostasis of bleeding wounds.