Bioinspired Helical Hydrogel Scaffold with Janus Wettability for Magnetically and Thermally Responsive Tricuspid Valve Repair

ABSTRACT

Tricuspid valve insufficiency and restricted opening remain clinical challenges in structural heart disease interventions, often requiring invasive repair or replacement. Inspired by natural organisms such as the nautilus, jellyfish, and lotus leaf, we propose a bioinspired helical hydrogel scaffold featuring a Janus wettability interface for magnetically and thermally responsive tricuspid valve repair. The scaffold comprises a spiral architecture and a trilayer hydrogel system, integrating a hydrophobic PDMS/CNT/Fe ₃ O ₄ surface for blood‐facing anti‐thrombotic performance and a hydrophilic P(HEMA‐co‐AAm) surface for enhanced tissue adhesion. The magnetic responsiveness endowed by Fe ₃ O ₄ nanoparticles enables remote, non‐contact clamping under external fields, while the incorporation of a thermoresponsive P(NiPAAm‐bis‐AA) hydrogel ensures in situ mechanical anchoring and dynamic adhesion at physiological temperature. In vitro mechanical and actuation tests, ex vivo porcine heart simulations, and in vivo biocompatibility assessments demonstrated the scaffold's reliable fixation, fatigue resistance, blood compatibility, and stable integration under cardiac‐mimicking conditions. This work presents a minimally invasive, suture‐free solution with high translational potential for tricuspid valve repair, and offers a modular platform for expanding intelligent hydrogel devices to other cardiac and interventional applications.