A suturable biohydrogel with mechanical matched property based on coating chitosan and polyethylene glycol shell for tissue patching

The mechanical mismatch between soft hydrated tissues and sutures has become a common negative impact on wound healing process. A novel method of coating multilayer polymer shells is thus reported to improve the mechanical performance of hydrogel sutures. It is suitable for tissue patching and shows advantages of convenient, efficient, and biosafety. Specifically, a precursor hydrogel (Cu@CMC) consisted of carboxymethyl chitosan and copper modified by carbon dots was used as the inner sheath, and then bonding the precursor hydrogel sheath with toughening polyethylene glycol network by anchoring sites composited from rigid chitosan shell integrated a whole structure. Subsequently, the whole system was soaked with EtOH, and rapid dehydration of EtOH was used to accelerate the entanglement process between the two coatings by constricting the molecular chains. Finally, an ideal suture (Cu-fiber) with both toughness and rigidness was obtained. The data showed that the tensile strength and biosafety of the hydrogel sutures prepared by the new strategy were significantly improved, and the skin, liver and vessel of rodents can be sutured without secondary damage. Moreover, it can inhibit inflammation response and promote the healing process of skin wound, indicating that the Cu-fiber will become a great candidate for tissue patching.