Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Pressure- and frequency-dependent acoustic behavior of second-generation acoustic reporter genes-expressing bacteria for optimized ultrasound imaging.

Ultrasonics·2026

Same author

Cell Membrane-Engineered FePDA Nanoparticles Integrate Ferroptosis and Antitumor Immunity.

Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)·2026

Same author

Reducing write amplification of DM-SMR disks by shingle-aware persistent cache.

Scientific reports·2026

Same author

Polymorphous low-grade neuroepithelial tumor of the young: a case report.

Frontiers in oncology·2026

Same author

Bacitracin-regulated injectable PHEMA hydrogels with intrinsic mild negative swelling for soft tissue repair.

Materials horizons·2026

Same author

Pickering emulsion gels stabilised by ultrasound-treated PSE-like myofibrillar protein microgel particles for age-friendly dysphagia foods: The structural changes, stability and texture-modified gel properties.

Food chemistry·2026

Same journal

Unlocking the capacity of Mn-based Prussian blue cathodes in capacitive deionization.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

Scaling biodiversity-stability relationships from populations to meta-communities across trophic levels.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

Thermodynamically programmed one-pot CRISPR platform for point-of-care SNP genotyping.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

Engineering all-organic electrocatalysts with asymmetric dual-active sites for uncommon oxygen-evolving pathway.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

Rapid GC content evolution in rice through GC-biased gene conversion and selection for translation efficiency.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

Declines in organic matter persistence with increased soil carbon.

Nature communications·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 7, 2026

Synthesis of Strong Adhesive Hydrogel, Gelatin O-Nitrosobenzaldehyde

Synthesis of Strong Adhesive Hydrogel, Gelatin O-Nitrosobenzaldehyde

Published on: November 11, 2022

Tough hydrogels enabled by transient entanglements.

Zhaoyang Yuan¹, Zhenxing Cao¹, Hao Wang²

¹State Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymer Materials, College of Polymer Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.

Nature Communications

|March 5, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers developed tough, strong single-covalent-network hydrogels using polyacrylamide (PAAm) with transient entanglements. This strategy overcomes the strength-toughness trade-off for advanced materials in demanding applications.

More Related Videos

Synthesis of an Intein-mediated Artificial Protein Hydrogel

Synthesis of an Intein-mediated Artificial Protein Hydrogel

Published on: January 27, 2014

Fabricating Degradable Thermoresponsive Hydrogels on Multiple Length Scales via Reactive Extrusion, Microfluidics, Self-assembly, and Electrospinning

Fabricating Degradable Thermoresponsive Hydrogels on Multiple Length Scales via Reactive Extrusion, Microfluidics, Self-assembly, and Electrospinning

Published on: April 16, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 7, 2026

Synthesis of Strong Adhesive Hydrogel, Gelatin O-Nitrosobenzaldehyde

Synthesis of Strong Adhesive Hydrogel, Gelatin O-Nitrosobenzaldehyde

Published on: November 11, 2022

Synthesis of an Intein-mediated Artificial Protein Hydrogel

Synthesis of an Intein-mediated Artificial Protein Hydrogel

Published on: January 27, 2014

Fabricating Degradable Thermoresponsive Hydrogels on Multiple Length Scales via Reactive Extrusion, Microfluidics, Self-assembly, and Electrospinning

Fabricating Degradable Thermoresponsive Hydrogels on Multiple Length Scales via Reactive Extrusion, Microfluidics, Self-assembly, and Electrospinning

Published on: April 16, 2018

Area of Science:

Materials Science
Polymer Chemistry
Biomaterials Engineering

Background:

Achieving simultaneous high strength and toughness in single-covalent-network hydrogels is a significant materials science challenge.
Existing hydrogel designs often face a trade-off between strength and toughness, limiting their applications.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a novel strategy for creating single-covalent-network hydrogels with enhanced strength and toughness.
To resolve the inherent strength-toughness conflict in polyacrylamide (PAAm) based hydrogels.

Main Methods:

Constructed polyacrylamide (PAAm) networks incorporating abundant dangling chains.
Utilized transient entanglements formed by dangling chains for energy dissipation and stress redistribution.
Investigated the mechanical properties including fracture strain, strength, fatigue threshold, and fracture energy.

Main Results:

The developed hydrogels exhibit a remarkable fracture strain of 5071% and fracture strength of 1.06 MPa.
Achieved a high fatigue threshold of 1968 J·m⁻² and fracture energy of approximately 60,000 J·m⁻².
Demonstrated superior homogeneity, low friction, and high wear resistance compared to conventional hydrogels.

Conclusions:

The strategy of using transient entanglements in PAAm networks effectively overcomes the strength-toughness trade-off in single-covalent-network hydrogels.
These robust hydrogels offer a promising platform for applications in biomedicine, wearable electronics, and other demanding environments.
The simple yet effective design avoids the complexity of multi-network architectures.