Overview

• The study, published September 4 in Cell Reports Physical Science, comes from teams at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Sichuan University.
• The material combines a high‑isoelectric‑point ELR‑IK24 protein, tannic acid, and HDI to enable protonation‑driven adhesion and acid‑stable crosslinking.
• At pH 2 it achieved about 15× the adhesion of aluminum phosphate gel and retained roughly 50% of its mass after seven days, whereas the comparator degraded by day three.
• Rat and pig esophageal injury models showed tighter adherence, faster healing, reduced inflammation, increased angiogenesis, and gene expression consistent with tissue repair compared with APG.
• In vitro tests found no cytotoxicity and antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus, and researchers cite low-cost, scalable manufacturing and established component safety while noting that regulatory review and human testing are required.