Adhesive

Polymerization

Adhesion

Polymer chemistry

Materials science

Peptide

Layer (electronics)

Biochemistry

Molecule

Physical chemistry

Polymer

Combinatorial chemistry

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Functional polymers

Self-healing hydrogels

Surface modification

Tripeptide

Composite material

Chemistry

Biomolecule

Nature Communications

Hydrogels have been extensively used in many fields. Current synthesis of functional hydrogels requires incorporation of functional molecules either before or during gelation via the pre-organized reactive site along the polymer chains within hydrogels, which is tedious for polymer synthesis and not flexible for different types of hydrogels. Inspired by sandcastle worm, we develop a simple one-step strategy to functionalize wet hydrogels using molecules bearing an adhesive dibutylamine-DOPA-lysine-DOPA tripeptide. This tripeptide can be easily modified with various functional groups to initiate diverse types of polymerizations and provide functional polymers with a terminal adhesive tripeptide. Such functional molecules enable direct modification of wet hydrogels to acquire biological functions such as antimicrobial, cell adhesion and wound repair. The strategy has a tunable functionalization degree and a stable attachment of functional molecules, which provides a tool for direct and convenient modification of wet hydrogels to provide them with diverse functions and applications.

A sandcastle worm-inspired strategy to functionalize wet hydrogels