Fabrication of 3D Tubular Hydrogel Materials through On-Site Surface Free Radical Polymerization

Constructing tubular hydrogel materials with desirable structures based on their functional application is a big challenge. Here, we report a simple but effective method to prepare tubular hydrogels with complex geometries by surface radical polymerization, in which an iron wire acts as both catalyst and template for the formation of a gel layer with controllable thickness. The formed hydrogel layer can be easily peeled off from the template after secondary cross-linking to obtain hollow hydrogel tubes which exhibit extraordinary and tunable tensile strength, good elasticity, and pressure-bearing capability. The method can be generalized to construct a series of complex three-dimensional hydrogel tubes with versatile components for building up fluidic channels or biocompatible 3D cell culturing platform for tissue engineering. Such a method is a great advance in the field of hydrogel materials. It is anticipated that this innovation would open up the door for developing functional 3D tubular hydrogel materials suitable for multiple applications.