Chlorophyll as a sustainable crosslinking strategy for engineering highly compressible hydrogels.
10 affiliations
- 1School of Medicine & Nursing and First Affiliated Hospital, Huzhou University, Huzhou, China.
- 2Department 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.
- 3Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
- 4Department of Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
- 5Biomaterials Research Center, School of Biomedical Engineering, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
- 6Department of Biological Science, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA.
- 7School of Civil Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou, China.
- 8Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada. [email protected].
- 9Department 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. [email protected].
- 10Department of Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China. [email protected].
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.
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BibTeX
@article{xu2026chlorophyll,
title = {{Chlorophyll as a sustainable crosslinking strategy for engineering highly compressible hydrogels.}},
author = {Kaige Xu and Chaoran Zhao and Yuqing Liu and Junjie Liu and Xianglong Xing and Oluwaloba Wisdom Ojo and Mingsong Wu and Quan Wang and Malcolm M Q Xing and Leyu Wang},
journal = {Nature communications},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-77673-z},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42957697},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Chlorophyll as a sustainable crosslinking strategy for engineering highly compressible hydrogels.
AU - Kaige Xu
AU - Chaoran Zhao
AU - Yuqing Liu
AU - Junjie Liu
AU - Xianglong Xing
AU - Oluwaloba Wisdom Ojo
AU - Mingsong Wu
AU - Quan Wang
AU - Malcolm M Q Xing
AU - Leyu Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/29
JO - Nature communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-77673-z
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42957697
AB - 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.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -