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Updated: Oct 28, 2026
An Additive Manufacturing Technique for the Facile and Rapid Fabrication of Hydrogel-based Micromachines with Magnetically Responsive Components
Published on: July 18, 2018
Engineering a smart bionic hydrogel powered by V2C MXene nanozymes for self-driven antibacterial and fruit
Meiling Lian1, Fuxin Chen1, Keyuan Zhao1
1Tianjin Engineering Research Center of Civil Aviation Energy Environment and Green Development, School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Civil Aviation University of China, Tianjin, 300300, PR China.
Abstract:
Postharvest decay of fresh fruits, driven by water loss and microbial colonization, remains a critical global challenge. Herein, we engineered a microenvironment-responsive biomimetic hydrogel featuring a physical-chemical dual-defense mechanism for zero-additive fruit preservation. This dynamic polymer network (Poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/cationic chitosan/glycerol) securely anchors two dimension Vanadium carbide (2D V2C) MXene nanozymes. Macroscopically, a glycerol-driven hydrogen-bonding network endows the hydrogel with dynamic morphological adaptability, conforming to fruit shrinkage to lock moisture and eliminate bacteria-invading micro-cracks. Microscopically, the V2C nanozymes act as an intelligent H2O2-responsive system, capturing trace endogenous H2O2 from microbial metabolism to trigger localized, lethal reactive oxygen species (ROS) storms without exogenous chemicals. In vivo evaluations on cherries and mandarins demonstrated that the P90VC10G coating maintained weight loss below 10% and total viable counts below 3.43 Lg CFU/g after 9 days of storage at ambient temperature. This work provides a promising protective strategy for sustainable postharvest management.
