Fig. 7. Electroadhesion of QDM gels to patch openings in the aorta.

a The anatomy of the aorta, which is a large artery, is depicted on the left. A 15-cm long segment from the descending thoracic region of the aorta is used in the study. The segment is a hollow tube that has holes on its surface corresponding to arterioles (side branches), as shown both in the schematic and the photo. b When an aqueous solution of 0.1 wt% FeCl₃ is pumped through the aorta, the fluid leaks out of the arterioles and falls into the bath containing tannic acid, whereupon a black precipitate of ferric tannate is formed. c Two QDM gel strips are electroadhered to the aorta so as to cover the arterioles. d When the FeCl₃ solution is pumped through the patched aorta, no leaks are observed (the bath stays clear), and the fluid flows steadily into the beaker on the right. The entire process is depicted in Supplementary Movie 4.