Switchable Adhesion of Hydrogels to Plant and Animal Tissues

Abstract The ability to “switch on” adhesion between a thin hydrogel and a biological tissue can be useful in biomedical applications such as surgery. One way to accomplish this is with an electric field, a phenomenon termed electroadhesion (EA). Here, it is shown that cationic gels can be adhered b...

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Main Authors: Leah K. Borden, Morine G. Nader, Faraz A. Burni, Samantha M. Grasso, Irene Orueta‐Ortega, Mahima Srivastava, Paula Montero‐Atienza, Metecan Erdi, Sarah L. Wright, Rajabrata Sarkar, Anthony D. Sandler, Srinivasa R. Raghavan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-02-01
Series:Advanced Science
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202411942
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author Leah K. Borden
Morine G. Nader
Faraz A. Burni
Samantha M. Grasso
Irene Orueta‐Ortega
Mahima Srivastava
Paula Montero‐Atienza
Metecan Erdi
Sarah L. Wright
Rajabrata Sarkar
Anthony D. Sandler
Srinivasa R. Raghavan
author_facet Leah K. Borden
Morine G. Nader
Faraz A. Burni
Samantha M. Grasso
Irene Orueta‐Ortega
Mahima Srivastava
Paula Montero‐Atienza
Metecan Erdi
Sarah L. Wright
Rajabrata Sarkar
Anthony D. Sandler
Srinivasa R. Raghavan
author_sort Leah K. Borden
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The ability to “switch on” adhesion between a thin hydrogel and a biological tissue can be useful in biomedical applications such as surgery. One way to accomplish this is with an electric field, a phenomenon termed electroadhesion (EA). Here, it is shown that cationic gels can be adhered by EA to tissues across all of biology. This includes tissues from animals, including humans and other mammals; birds; fish; reptiles (e.g., lizards); amphibians (e.g., frogs), and invertebrates (e.g., shrimp, worms). Gels can also be adhered to soft tissues from plants, including fruit (e.g., plums) and vegetables (e.g; carrot). In all cases, EA is induced by a low electric field (DC, 10 V) applied for a short time (20 s). After the field is removed, the adhesion persists. The adhesion can also be reversed by applying the field with opposite polarity. In mammals, EA is strong for many tissues (e.g., arteries, muscles, and cornea), but not others (e.g., adipose, brain). Tissues with anisotropic structure show anisotropic adhesion strength by EA. The higher the concentration of anionic polymers in a tissue, the stronger its adhesion to cationic gels. This underscores that EA is mediated by the electrophoresis of chain segments across the gel‐tissue interface.
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spelling doaj-art-ce13e4435ba142c8a8f16c5462ff2b2c2025-02-04T13:14:54ZengWileyAdvanced Science2198-38442025-02-01125n/an/a10.1002/advs.202411942Switchable Adhesion of Hydrogels to Plant and Animal TissuesLeah K. Borden0Morine G. Nader1Faraz A. Burni2Samantha M. Grasso3Irene Orueta‐Ortega4Mahima Srivastava5Paula Montero‐Atienza6Metecan Erdi7Sarah L. Wright8Rajabrata Sarkar9Anthony D. Sandler10Srinivasa R. Raghavan11Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering University of Maryland College Park MD 20742 USADepartment of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering University of Maryland College Park MD 20742 USADepartment of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering University of Maryland College Park MD 20742 USADepartment of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering University of Maryland College Park MD 20742 USADepartment of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering University of Maryland College Park MD 20742 USADepartment of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering University of Maryland College Park MD 20742 USAFischell Department of Bioengineering University of Maryland College Park MD 20742 USADepartment of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering University of Maryland College Park MD 20742 USASheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation Children's National Medical Center Washington DC 20010 USADivision of Vascular Surgery University of Maryland Baltimore MD 21201 USASheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation Children's National Medical Center Washington DC 20010 USADepartment of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering University of Maryland College Park MD 20742 USAAbstract The ability to “switch on” adhesion between a thin hydrogel and a biological tissue can be useful in biomedical applications such as surgery. One way to accomplish this is with an electric field, a phenomenon termed electroadhesion (EA). Here, it is shown that cationic gels can be adhered by EA to tissues across all of biology. This includes tissues from animals, including humans and other mammals; birds; fish; reptiles (e.g., lizards); amphibians (e.g., frogs), and invertebrates (e.g., shrimp, worms). Gels can also be adhered to soft tissues from plants, including fruit (e.g., plums) and vegetables (e.g; carrot). In all cases, EA is induced by a low electric field (DC, 10 V) applied for a short time (20 s). After the field is removed, the adhesion persists. The adhesion can also be reversed by applying the field with opposite polarity. In mammals, EA is strong for many tissues (e.g., arteries, muscles, and cornea), but not others (e.g., adipose, brain). Tissues with anisotropic structure show anisotropic adhesion strength by EA. The higher the concentration of anionic polymers in a tissue, the stronger its adhesion to cationic gels. This underscores that EA is mediated by the electrophoresis of chain segments across the gel‐tissue interface.https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202411942Adhesion on demandadhesion strengthreversible adhesionsmart materialsTissue microstructure
spellingShingle Leah K. Borden
Morine G. Nader
Faraz A. Burni
Samantha M. Grasso
Irene Orueta‐Ortega
Mahima Srivastava
Paula Montero‐Atienza
Metecan Erdi
Sarah L. Wright
Rajabrata Sarkar
Anthony D. Sandler
Srinivasa R. Raghavan
Switchable Adhesion of Hydrogels to Plant and Animal Tissues
Advanced Science
Adhesion on demand
adhesion strength
reversible adhesion
smart materials
Tissue microstructure
title Switchable Adhesion of Hydrogels to Plant and Animal Tissues
title_full Switchable Adhesion of Hydrogels to Plant and Animal Tissues
title_fullStr Switchable Adhesion of Hydrogels to Plant and Animal Tissues
title_full_unstemmed Switchable Adhesion of Hydrogels to Plant and Animal Tissues
title_short Switchable Adhesion of Hydrogels to Plant and Animal Tissues
title_sort switchable adhesion of hydrogels to plant and animal tissues
topic Adhesion on demand
adhesion strength
reversible adhesion
smart materials
Tissue microstructure
url https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202411942
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