Adaptive hydrogels with spatiotemporal stiffening using pH-modulating enzymes

Abstract: Adaptive material systems that autonomously respond to external stimuli are crucial for advancing next-generation smart devices. Biological systems achieve autonomous behavior by utilizing chemical energy from out-of-equilibrium reactions to power life-like functions without requiring external energy inputs. Although responsive hydrogels with embedded enzymatic reactions offer a promising platform for implementing adaptive behavior in synthetic systems, previous studies have focused on controlling the supramolecular self-assembly of responsive building blocks rather than modulating network crosslinking. Here, we demonstrate direct enzymatic modulation of crosslinking density in a double-network hydrogel to achieve autonomous self-stiffening in response to a chemical stimulus. Our adaptive system embeds glucose oxidase within a polyacrylamide-alginate double-network hydrogel containing Ca(EDTA)2- complexes that render the crosslinked alginate network pH-responsive through a competitive calcium binding mechanism. Chemical waves emerging from enzymatic reaction activation propagate at speeds ranging from 15 to 44 um/min, driving spatiotemporal mechanical transitions that increase material stiffness by up to 2.1-fold. By integrating signal sensing and chemomechanical transduction within this responsive hydrogel, we realized adaptive behavior that autonomously converts localized chemical inputs into system-wide mechanical outputs. This positions our adaptive hydrogels as promising model systems to guide the design of intelligent materials for soft robotics and biomedical devices.