The low mechanical properties of high-water-content hydrogels often hinder their broad use in biomedical applications, especially in replacing/treating load-bearing tissues. Inspired by the protein structure of load-bearing tissues, we developed high-water-content hydrogels with excellent mechanical properties using a hydrophobic–hydrophilic copolymer strategy employing a benzene-based amphiphilic monomer, 5-acrylamidoisophthalic acid (AAI), as the major hydrophobic component and acrylamide (AAm) as the major hydrophilic component. The AAI monomer, connected with two –COOH functional groups, allowed the hydrogel to absorb excess water via H-bonding without compromising its homogeneity and structure. The AAI-rich hard-phase regions (via benzene–benzene interactions and hydrophobic associations) and AAm-rich soft-phase regions resulted in the high-water-content ($\sim$80 wt%) hydrogel exhibiting a combination of good mechanical properties.

高含水量水凝胶的低机械性能通常会阻碍其在生物医学应用中的广泛使用，尤其是在替换/治疗承重组织方面。受承重组织蛋白质结构的启发，我们采用疏水-亲水共聚物策略开发了具有优异机械性能的高含水量水凝胶，该策略采用苯类两亲单体5-丙烯酰胺基间苯二甲酸（AAI）作为主要疏水性组分和丙烯酰胺（AAm）为主要亲水组分。AAI单体与两个–COOH官能团连接，使水凝胶通过H键吸收过量的水，而不会损害其均质性和结构。$〜$80％（重量）的水凝胶具有良好的机械性能。