A Multitasking Hydrogel Based on Double Dynamic Network with Quadruple-Stimuli Sensitiveness, Autonomic Self-Healing Property, and Biomimetic Adhesion Ability

Multifunctional and multiresponsive hydrogels demonstrate excellent promise for multifarious applications but often suffer from high synthesis complexity and poor resource availability. Herein, based on the boronate-catechol interactions between a disulfide-containing, boronic acid-based crosslinker, and a catechol-functionalized poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide), a multitasking hydrogel with double dynamic network is developed. By integrating the inherent heat-responsive property of poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) and bioadhesion of catechol moieties with the reversibility and dynamic features of boronate ester and disulfide bonds, the final hydrogel is endowed with not only temperature, pH, glucose, and redox quadruplestimuli sensitiveness, but also autonomic self-healing property and biomimetic adhesion ability. Moreover, the rheological and adhesive properties can be readily tuned by adjusting the amount of crosslinker or the catechol in polymer precursor. Considering the readily prepared starting materials, easy preparation, high flexibility in tuning hydrogel properties, the procedure provided here opens up a promising avenue to develop multifunctional hydrogels for multifarious applications.