Structurally Transformable and Reconfigurable Hydrogel-Based Mechanical Metamaterials and Their Application in Biomedical Stents

Mechanical metamaterials exhibit several unusual mechanical properties, such as a negative Poisson’s ratio, which impart additional capabilities to materials. Recently, hydrogels have emerged as exceptional candidates for fabricating mechanical metamaterials that offer enhanced functionality and expanded applications due to their unique responsive characteristics. However, the adaptability of these metamaterials remains constrained and underutilized, as they lack integration of the hydrogels’ soft and responsive characteristics with the metamaterial design. Here, we propose structurally transformable and reconfigurable hydrogel-based mechanical metamaterials through three-dimensional (3D) printing of lattice structures composed of multishape-memory poly(acrylic acid)-chitosan hydrogels. By incorporating reversible shape-memory mechanisms that control the structural arrangements of the lattice, these metamaterials can exhibit transformable and reconfigurable mechanical characteristics under various environmental conditions, including auxetic behavior, with Poisson’s ratios switchable from negative to zero or positive. These adaptable mechanical responses across different states arise from structural changes in lattice, surpassing the gradual changes observed in conventional stimuli-responsive materials. The application of these metamaterials in multimode biomedical stents demonstrates their adaptability in practical settings, allowing them to transition between expandable, nonexpandable, and shrinkable states, with corresponding Poisson’s ratios. By integrating multishape-memory soft materials with metamaterial design, we can significantly enhance their functionality, advancing the development of smart biomaterials.