Graphene-Lined Porous Gelatin Glycidyl Methacrylate Hydrogels: Implications for Tissue Engineering

Despite rigorous research, inferior mechanical properties
and structural homogeneity are the main challenges constraining
hydrogel’s suturability to host tissue and limiting its clinical
applications. To tackle those, we developed a reverse solvent
interface trapping method, in which organized, graphene-coated
microspherical cavities were introduced into a hydrogel to create
heterogeneity and make it suturable. To generate those cavities, (i)
graphite exfoliates to graphene sheets, which spread at the water/
heptane interfaces of the microemulsion, (ii) heptane fills the
microspheres coated by graphene, and (iii) a cross-linkable hydrogel
dissolved in water fills the voids. Cross-linking solidifies such
microemulsion to a strong, suturable, permanent hybrid architecture,
which has better mechanical properties, yet it is biocompatible and
supports cell adhesion and proliferation. These properties along with the ease and biosafety of fabrication suggest the potential of
this strategy to enhance tissue engineering outcomes by generating various suturable scaffolds for biomedical applications, such as
donor cornea carriers for Boston keratoprosthesis (BK).