Brendan Watson, a graduate student at Rice University, led a project to create a hydrogel bioscaffold that is liquid at room temperature and instantly solidifies as it approaches body temperature. A second process allows the hydrogel to break down slowly as it is replaced by healthy tissue. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)
Read: A Hydrogel that Knows When to Go
A new hydrogel invented at Rice University turns from liquid to semisolid as it moves from room temperature to near body temperature in an experiment. The material inside the tube quickly turns white as it gellates. Chemical links in the gel take longer to form, but help it hold its size and shape as a scaffold for growing new tissue. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)
What started as a clear liquid at room temperature quickly turns into a white gel at body temperature. The new hydrogel invented at Rice University could find use in tissue engineering applications. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)