The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

To develop treatments for incurable diseases, understanding complex human biological systems is essential. Yet, the size and fragility of human organs hinder such studies, limiting research to small tissue samples. This talk introduces mELAST (magnifiable entangled link-augmented stretchable tissue-hydrogel), a platform that transforms human brain tissue into an elastic, transparent, and expandable hydrogel composite. mELAST forms superhydrophilic, entangled polymer networks in situ within native nanoporous structures, integrating with endogenous biomolecules. We compare the physicochemical properties of mELAST and conventional hydrogels, including rheology, tensile strength, porous structures, and permeability. These features enable large-scale tissue processing, multiplexed immunostaining, and repeatable expansion for multiscale 3D imaging. mELAST demonstrates how engineered polymer structure–property relationships can advance human organ analysis and therapeutic discovery.