• • Hydrogel fibres achieve ultrafast stimulus-response capabilities and high swelling rates, but tensile strength remains below 10 MPa in many formulations, limiting load-bearing applications such as ACL prostheses where PVA/UHMWPE constructs are required to match native ligament mechanics (J BioMech, 2013, 46: 1463–1470).
• • Core-sheath architectures produced by integrated dynamic wet spinning enable optical-to-brain/tissue communications, with signal attenuation below 0.5 dB/cm in the visible spectrum, yet long-term stability under physiological conditions remains unproven beyond 30 days (Natl Sci Rev, 2021, 8: nwaa209).
• • Vortex-inspired hydrodynamic drafting spinning achieves large-scale preparation of hydrogel fibres with production rates exceeding 100 m/min, but diameter uniformity varies by ±15%, directly impacting mechanical reliability in soft robotics and wearable thermoelectric energy harvesting (Adv Fiber Mater, 2024, 6: 1710–1728).
• • Ion-doped and twisted core-sheath hydrogel fibres mimic spider silk with toughness up to 150 MJ/m³, yet hygroscopicity-induced swelling causes dimensional changes of 20–40%, compromising dimensional stability in precision applications such as protein separation (Nat Commun, 2019, 10: 5293).