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A Stretchable, Mechanically-Interlocked Polyrotaxane Hydrogel for Wearable Motion and Electrophysiological Monitoring
Hao-Zheng Huang1, Yu-Tao Zheng2, Feng Chen1
1State Key Laboratory for Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Medicinal Resources, School of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, China.
Advanced Science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)
|April 10, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed a new polyrotaxane hydrogel for wearable electronics. This robust, stretchable material offers stable electrical properties and tissue-like interfaces for advanced bioelectronic devices.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Biomedical Engineering
- Polymer Chemistry
Background:
- Conductive hydrogels are crucial for wearable electronics but often struggle with mechanical robustness, stable electrical properties, and biocompatible interfaces.
- Existing materials face challenges in balancing softness, stretchability, conductivity, and long-term stability for reliable bioelectronic applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel hydrogel with enhanced mechanical robustness, stable electrical performance, and tissue-compliant properties for wearable bioelectronics.
- To create a multifunctional material platform capable of high-fidelity biosignal detection and advanced human-machine interfacing.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a mechanically interlocked polyrotaxane hydrogel using one-pot photopolymerization.
- Integration of sliding macrocycles and a covalent network to leverage the energy-dissipative "pulley effect" for mechanical reinforcement.
- Characterization of the hydrogel's mechanical properties (modulus, stretchability), ionic conductivity, adhesion, and performance as a strain sensor and epidermal electrode.
Main Results:
- The polyrotaxane hydrogel achieved skin-like softness (∼8.5 kPa modulus), ultrahigh stretchability (2450%), strong adhesion, and high ionic conductivity (7.46 mS/cm).
- It demonstrated durable strain sensing capabilities with a wide range and stable performance over 10,000 cycles.
- The hydrogel functioned as an epidermal electrode, capturing high-fidelity electrocardiogram (ECG) and electromyogram (EMG) signals with excellent signal-to-noise ratio (>42 dB) and long-term stability (>24 h).
- A five-sensor array enabled real-time gesture recognition and wireless robotic control.
Conclusions:
- The developed polyrotaxane hydrogel offers a promising solution to the limitations of current materials for wearable bioelectronics.
- Its unique mechanical and electrical properties, combined with biocompatibility, make it suitable for advanced applications like durable biosensing and human-machine interfaces.
- This work presents a versatile material platform for the next generation of robust and multifunctional wearable electronic devices.
