- Annabi, Nasim;
- Shin, Su Ryon;
- Tamayol, Ali;
- Miscuglio, Mario;
- Bakooshli, Mohsen Afshar;
- Assmann, Alexander;
- Mostafalu, Pooria;
- Sun, Jeong-Yun;
- Mithieux, Suzanne;
- Cheung, Louis;
- Tang, Xiaowu Shirley;
- Weiss, Anthony S;
- Khademhosseini, Ali
A highly elastic hybrid hydrogel of methacryloyl-substituted recombinant human tropoelastin (MeTro) and graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles are developed. The synergistic effect of these two materials significantly enhances both ultimate strain (250%), reversible rotation (9700°), and the fracture energy (38.8 ± 0.8 J m(-2) ) in the hybrid network. Furthermore, improved electrical signal propagation and subsequent contraction of the muscles connected by hybrid hydrogels are observed in ex vivo tests.