Fig. 1: Schematic illustration of the fabrication process and performance of anisotropic hydrogels.

a Preparation of anisotropic hydrogels via organogel mechanical training, wet annealing, and the salt-locking strategy. b Demonstration of the hydrogel’s mechanical strength, as evidenced by a hydrogel strip lifting an 8 kg weight. c Comparison of tensile stress and Young’s modulus between the pure (isotropic) hydrogel and the engineered anisotropic hydrogel. Data are presented as mean values ± SD, n = 3 independent samples. d Comparative evaluation of the mechanical properties of the developed hydrogel relative to various native biological tissues.