Mears, L.L.E., Draper, E.R., Castilla, A.M. et al. (10 more authors) (2017) Drying affects the fiber network in low molecular weight hydrogels. Biomacromolecules, 18 (11). pp. 3531-3540. ISSN 1525-7797
Abstract
Low molecular weight gels are formed by the self-assembly of a suitable small molecule gelator into a three-dimensional network of fibrous structures. The gel properties are determined by the fiber structures, the number and type of cross-links and the distribution of the fibers and cross-links in space. Probing these structures and cross-links is difficult. Many reports rely on microscopy of dried gels (xerogels), where the solvent is removed prior to imaging. The assumption is made that this has little effect on the structures, but it is not clear that this assumption is always (or ever) valid. Here, we use small angle neutron scattering (SANS) to probe low molecular weight hydrogels formed by the self-assembly of dipeptides. We compare scattering data for wet and dried gels, as well as following the drying process. We show that the assumption that drying does not affect the network is not always correct.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 American Chemical Society. This is an open access article published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the author and source are cited. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Chemistry (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 31 Jul 2017 11:58 |
Last Modified: | 18 Aug 2023 15:34 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Chemical Society |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1021/acs.biomac.7b00823 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:119652 |