Highly Stretchable and Biocompatible Wrinkled Nanoclay-Composite Hydrogel with Enhanced Sensing Capability for Precise Detection of Myocardial Infarction

It is challenging to balance high biocompability with good mechanical-electrical sensing performance, especially when triggered inflammatory stress response after in-vivo implantation. Herein, we reported a bioinspired wrinkle-reinforced adaptive nanoclay-interlocked soft strain-sensor based on a highly stretchable and elastic ionic-conductive hydrogel. This novel nanoclay-composite hydrogel exhibited excellent tensile properties and high sensing capacity with steady and reliable sensing performance due to the structural-mechanical-electrical integrity of the nanoclay crosslinked and nano-reinforced interpenetrating network. The incorporation of amphiphilic ions provides the hydrogel with significant protein resistance, reducing its non-specific adsorption to proteins upon implantation and improving its biosafety as an implanted device and maintaining the authenticity of the sensing results. Based on the revealed sensing enhanced mechanism based on hierarchical ordered structures, as a proof-of-concept application, it is for the first time to demonstrate this hydrogel sensor can accurately localize the region where myocardial infarction occurs and may become a novel strategy for real-time monitoring of pathological changes in heart disease. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.