Overview of Research
Besides bones, tooth, and nails, the human body consists of soft tissues. The dynamic functions of the human body are mostly realized by these soft tissues. For example, muscles generate force to move bones, tendons transfer force from muscle to bone, and cartilage absorbs the shock and reduces the friction of bone motion. These soft tissues, consisting of biopolymers (DNA, proteins, polysaccharides) and 30-80% water, belong to a category of substances called Soft & Wet Matter. The mechanisms of why soft tissues are able to exhibit such excellent functions are not understood yet, but it is considered to originate from their soft & wet nature.

A hydrogel, consisting of cross-linked macromolecules and water, is also soft & wet matter. My research goal is to unravel the secrets of soft tissues, creating hydrogels with soft tissue-like functions, and applying these hydrogels as artificial soft tissues, such as cartilage, tendon, and muscles.

Our strategy is as follows: 1) design the hydrogel by extracting the structural essences of the soft tissue using physical principles; 2) synthesize hydrogels with soft tissue-like structure using chemical approaches; and 3) investigate the functions of hydrogels thus obtained and understand the mechanisms of soft tissues by comparing these hydrogels with real soft-tissues.