Adaptable Microporous Hydrogels (AMHs) potentially mimic hierarchical natural living tissue and fill complexly shaped defects with minimally invasive implantation procedures. By embedding gradient concentrations of growth factors into the building blocks, the propagated gradient of the nerve growth factor, integrated to the cell-penetrative connected pores constructed by the building blocks in the nerve conduit, effectively promotes cell migration and induces dramatic bridging effects on peripheral nerve defects, achieving  axon outgrowth of up to 4.7 mm and twofold axon fiber intensity in 4 days in vivo. Such AMHs with intrinsic properties of tunable mechanical properties, gradient propagation of biocues and effective induction of cell migration are potentially able to overcome the limitations of hydrogel-mediated tissue regeneration in general and can possibly be used in clinical applications.

Porous scaffolds that serve as tissue regeneration templates can guide new tissue before degradation, yet most of these scaffolds are noninjectable and exhibit poorly interlinked pores. This AMH is reshapable and reassembles through shear-thinning force and strong cohesive properties, facilitating the formation of a stable 3D porous scaffold. Such an interconnected injectable porous scaffold with suitable micropores for prompt cell migration as well as offer mechanical support and transports biomolecular cues to manage cell adhesion and growth. Such synergistic effects of injectable AMHs of rapid bonding, precise pore control, and tunable molecular cue gradient formation effectively create a new horizon for applications in tissue regeneration.

AMHs composed of microsized building blocks with opposite charges serves as an injectable matrix with interconnected pores and propagates gradient growth factor for spontaneous assembly into a complex shape in real time.  AMHs can be applied to damaged tissues and and greatly improve the repair speed of each tissu, such as central nerve, peripheral nerve, brain tissue, muscle tissue or bone tissue.