Multifunctional Hydrogel with Good Structure Integrity, Self-Healing, and Tissue-Adhesive Property Formed by Combining Die Is Alder Click Reaction and Acylhydrazone Bond

Hydrogel, as a good cartilage tissue-engineered scaffold, not only has to possess robust mechanical property but also has to have an intrinsic self-healing property to integrate itself or the surrounding host cartilage. In this work a double cross-linked network (DN) was designed and prepared by combining Diels Alder click reaction and acylhydrazone bond. The DA reaction maintained the hydrogel's structural integrity and mechanical strength in physiological environment, while the dynamic covalent acylhydrazone bond resulted in hydrogel's self-healing property and controlled the on off switch of network cross-link density. At the same time, the aldehyde groups contained in hydrogel further promote good integration of the hydrogel to surrounding tissue based on aldehyde-amine Schiff-base reaction. This kind of hydrogel has good structural integrity, autonomous self-healing, and tissue-adhesive property and simultaneously will have a good application in tissue engineering and tissue repair field.