Mussel-inspired conductive Ti₂C-cryogel promotes functional maturation of cardiomyocytes and enhances repair of myocardial infarction

MXene hydrogels: fundamentals and applications

“…Hitherto, all reported MXene-containing gels have been made of Ti 3 C 2 T x , i.e., the most studied MXene among the 25+ MXenes reported to date, 7,20 except for one case where Ti 2 CT x was used to construct one of the hydrogel derivatives -cryogel. 21 Following previous reports, 20 all the MXene nanosheets, contained in the MXene-based gels reviewed here were synthesized by selectively removing the ''A'' layers (i.e., mostly groups 13 and 14 elements) from their parent layered 3D MAX phases, using different top-down fluoride-containing etching methods. MAX phases can be described as alternately stacked ''MX'' layers and close-packed ''A'' atomic layers, with a general formula of M n+1 AX n , where the M-X ionic/covalent bonds are chemically more stable than the M-A metallic bonds.…”

“…Recently, one more derivative of MXene hydrogels, the cryogel, has been prepared using Ti 2 CT x MXene rather than Ti 3 C 2 T x . 21 Generally, the gelation of the precursors of a cryogel is achieved at subzero temperatures. In the case of MXene cryogel, the dried Ti 2 CT x powder is added to a prepolymer solution during bath sonication, and then is kept overnight at À20 1C (Fig.…”

“…(4) MXene-containing gels possess an exceptional packing density higher than commercial activated carbon and graphite. 21 Analogous to electrochemical behavior, the oxidation stability of the fabricated hydrogels is also affected by the dimensionality of the MXene nanosheets. 8 Usually, hydrogels made of thinner and smaller nanosheets are more prone to oxidation, because of the higher ratio between the active surface area of the MXenes and their volume.…”

Progress and biomedical applications of MXenes

“…MXenes have fewer applications in tissue engineering. The application of MXene in tissue engineering includes bone tissue engineering, [ 76,129–132 ] skin tissue engineering, [ 15 ] nerve tissue engineering, [ 133,134 ] and myocardial tissue engineering [ 135,136 ] mainly.…”

“…The obvious vasoconstriction was also found, especially the newly formed small arteries (Figure 9J, K). [ 136 ]…”