-30°C-operable bioadhesive hydrogel sensors for embryonic-like skin regeneration and real-time wound monitoring.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 42220643.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.05.007 and PMC identifier 13218123.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
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Abstract
Hydrogel-based biosensors are promising for on-skin and in situ wound monitoring owing to their softness and biocompatibility, yet their practical deployment remains hindered by subzero failure caused by water crystallization, unstable adhesion on moist/exudative tissues, and limited ability to regulate the wound microenvironment. Here, we report an antifreezing, electroactive, and robust adhesive hydrogel bioadhesive sensor based on polyethylene glycol, a glycerol/water binary solvent, and carboxylated carbon nanotubes (PEG/Gly/CNT). The glycerol-water hydrogen-bonding network suppresses ice crystallization, enabling stable operation at -30°C, while an optimized 3 wt% CNT percolation network provides electroactivity and mechanical reinforcement. The resulting sensor exhibits strong wet-tissue adhesion (41.50 ± 1.62 kPa) and maintains high conductivity (2.07 ± 0.20 S/m) and high strain sensitivity (GF = 2.61) at -30°C, supporting wide-range linear strain sensing with rapid and stable signal readout under deformation. Beyond monitoring, the PEG/Gly/CNT facilitates microenvironmental regulation by endogenous bioelectrical signaling transmission at the wound interface. In a diabetic full-thickness skin wound model, the sensor enables continuous electrical readouts during healing and significantly accelerates wound closure (99.63 ± 0.41% recovery on day 12), accompanied by increased collagen type III deposition and an elevated MMP-9/α-SMA ratio, indicating embryonic-like remodeling. Moreover, conformal adhesion to dynamic tissues and real-time signal acquisition are demonstrated on Bama miniature pig cardiac wounds. This subzero-operable, bioadhesive, and electroactive hydrogel platform addresses key limitations of current hydrogel biosensors and offers reliable deployment and sensing in extreme-cold environments, while supporting tissue repair under physiological conditions and enabling cardiovascular monitoring.