Mussel-inspired dopamine oligomer intercalated tough and resilient gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogels for cartilage regeneration

. The hydrogel can serve as a growth-factor-free scaffold for cartilage regeneration. This hydrogel not only provided a favorable microenvironment for cartilage repair but also could serve as a promising candidate material for repair of other tissues. This mussel-inspired strategy of introduction of reactive oligomers instead of polymers into a brittle hydrogel network may be extended to the development of other tough hydrogels for biomedical applications.