{
  "abstract": "Hydrogels are promising candidates for tissue repair. Non-invasive delivery of hydrogel patches involving high strains and deformations requires mechanical robustness and complex material design. Here we show chlorophyll, a sustainable plant-derived small molecule, functions as a universal physical crosslinker to significantly enhance hydrogels' compressibility and resilience. Chlorophylls self-assemble in aqueous pre-polymer solution via hydrophobic interactions, leading to the nano-aggregations, acting as physical crosslinkers and anchoring points within hydrogels' matrix. Additionally, the solvent exchange (SE) process promotes macroporous structure formation for high compressibility and resilience. With chlorophyll, the maximum compressive strains of gelatin methacrylate (GC) hydrogels increased from ~43% to ≥90%, allowing injection under 90.4% deformation while preserving structural integrity. This strategy enabled the fabrication of a single 36-mm diameter injectable conductive polypyrrole-deposited GC (GCP) cardiac patch for myocardial repair in minipigs. Moreover, chlorophyll functions as an intrinsic antioxidant reservoir, and improved ejection fraction (EF) by 11 % in porcine infarcted hearts.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Medicine & Nursing and First Affiliated Hospital, Huzhou University, Huzhou, China.",
    "Department of Neurology, Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.",
    "Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.",
    "Department of Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.",
    "Biomaterials Research Center, School of Biomedical Engineering, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.",
    "Department of Biological Science, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA.",
    "School of Civil Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou, China.",
    "Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada. malcolm.xing@umanitoba.ca.",
    "Department of Neurology, Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China. wangleyu889@163.com.",
    "Department of Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China. wangleyu889@163.com."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Kaige Xu",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2200-1499"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Chaoran Zhao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Yuqing Liu",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6324-1296"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Junjie Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Xianglong Xing"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Oluwaloba Wisdom Ojo"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Mingsong Wu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Quan Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Malcolm M Q Xing",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3547-0462"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Leyu Wang",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6547-1490"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/baswk5tst0bed.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41467-026-77673-z",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13720071",
  "id": "baswk5tst0bed",
  "issns": [
    "2041-1723"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42957697",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1313|Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214741958",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13720071?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13720071",
  "pmid": "42957697",
  "published": "2026-09-29",
  "publisher": "Nature Publishing Group",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/baswk5tst0bed.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T00:20:44Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42957697",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42957697"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-02T12:23:55Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13720071",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77673-z"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:1313|Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Chlorophyll as a sustainable crosslinking strategy for engineering highly compressible hydrogels.",
  "title_text": "Chlorophyll as a sustainable crosslinking strategy for engineering highly compressible hydrogels.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-03T12:21:01Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/baswk5tst0bed",
  "venue": "Nature communications",
  "versions": []
}