{
  "abstract": "Granular hydrogel scaffolds (GHS) are injectable, integrative biomaterials built from hydrogel microparticles that permit rapid cell infiltration independent of scaffold degradation. Microporous annealed particle (MAP) scaffolds, a sub-class of GHS, use inter-microparticle crosslinks to anneal adjacent particles, providing greater mechanical stability than purely jammed assemblies. A growing range of inter-particle crosslinking strategies—including covalent photo-initiated radical polymerization and reversible guest-host chemistries, some intended to mimic extracellular matrix (ECM) viscoelasticity—focus on mechanical stabilization, while surface bioactivity is typically added separately via orthogonally tethered cell-adhesion ligands such as RGD, a peptide derived from fibronectin (FN), a key mediator of cell-ECM and ECM-ECM interactions. Here, we present an alternative that unifies these functions: coating MAP microparticle building blocks with covalently bound fibronectin to create fibronectin-modified MAP (FN-MAP). FN-MAP exhibits shear-thinning annealing with complete recovery of scaffold mechanics after physical mixing. Human lung fibroblasts respond favorably, adopting spread morphologies with high viability. Translationally, FN-MAP shows proof-of-principle promise for 3D bioprinting (greater stability and higher print resolution) and wound healing (increased epidermal closure in a diabetic mouse model). FN-MAP thus delivers both increased scaffold strength and bioactivity without exogenous soluble linkers or mixed particle populations.\n\nTable of Contents: Porous scaffolds encourage tissue regeneration but typically need separate components to be both strong and bioactive. By coating granular hydrogel scaffolds with fibronectin, a natural protein central to wound repair, we simultaneously boost material strength and cell-instructive signaling. This single-protein strategy produces stronger, more printable scaffolds, promotes healthy cell activity, and enhances wound closure in a challenging diabetic mouse model.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Ethan J. Nicklow",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1685-4919"
    },
    {
      "name": "Olivia D. Ernst",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1828-6724"
    },
    {
      "name": "Chris Highley",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9153-4013"
    },
    {
      "name": "Donald R. Griffin",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3458-867X"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5v4pgyt853tkz.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.10.20.760419",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.20.760419v1.full",
  "id": "5v4pgyt853tkz",
  "issns": [
    "2692-8205"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.20.760419v1",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "bioengineering"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1313|Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223096122",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.20.760419v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13738559",
  "pmid": "42996019",
  "published": "2026-10-20",
  "publisher": "Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Preprints",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5v4pgyt853tkz.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:28:54Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.10.20.760419",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.20.760419v1"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-09T12:23:32Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13738559",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.20.760419"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:bioengineering",
      "subfield": "systems-synthetic"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Fibronectin Tethering as a Shear-thinning Bio-Annealing Strategy for Granular Hydrogels",
  "title_text": "Fibronectin Tethering as a Shear-thinning Bio-Annealing Strategy for Granular Hydrogels",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T12:23:32Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5v4pgyt853tkz",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}