Scientists create new hydrogel super skin that heals by 90% in just four hours

Scientists created a new hydrogel that mimics human skin and rapidly heals:

A team of scientists from Aalto University and the University of Bayreuth has developed a revolutionary hydrogel that mimics human skin's dual traits-toughness and self-repair.

This new material can heal itself within hours thanks to an intricate network of polymer chains entangled around nanosheets, offering strength without sacrificing flexibility.

The breakthrough, published in Nature Materials, could accelerate innovation in artificial skin, wound healing, and soft robotics where materials that can stretch, bend, and recover from damage are critical.

The hydrogel forms when a UV lamp triggers the bonding of polymer monomers, creating an elastic solid with up to 10,000 layers of nanosheets per millimeter.

Cut the gel, and it begins healing immediately -recovering 90% of its integrity in just four hours and completely within a day.

The process mirrors biological resilience found in real skin, marking a major advancement in bio-inspired materials science. Researchers say the technology could redefine how synthetic tissues and robotic systems are designed in the future. It could even be used to help heal real human wounds or integrated into novel materials to protect skin learnmore: https://lnkd.in/gNxfN4sh