Large-Scale Nanofiber Manufacturing| Spider Silk Inspired Hierarchical Fibrous Hydrogels withExtreme Robustness via a Top-Down MultidimensionalEngineering Strategy

Prof. Decheng Wu (Southern University of Science and Technology): Spider Silk-Inspired Multilevel Fiber Hydrogel Breaks Conventional Limits

Challenge: Conventional hydrogels are often fragile and brittle, significantly limiting their applications in mechanically demanding fields.

Approach: Inspired by spider dragline silk, Prof. Decheng Wu and Assoc. Prof. Hongmei Liu developed a hierarchical chitosan fiber hydrogel (FHCS) through a top-down multidimensional engineering strategy, transcending traditional hydrogel limitations.

Innovation 1:
• Macrofiber fabrication via electrospinning
• Microfiber structure through "sea-island" phase separation
• Molecular-level anhydrous chitosan crystallization via hydrogen bond reconstruction
→ Achieves exceptional mechanical properties:

• Tensile strength: 47.0 ± 2.4 MPa

• Young's modulus: 5.6 ± 0.3 GPa

• Fracture toughness: 12.3 ± 1.5 MJ/m³

Innovation 2:
• Excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability
• Regulates cell proliferation/phenotype via mechanotransduction
→ Emerges as promising material for high-load biomedical applications