Wang, W., Lu, D., Zhu, M. et al. (4 more authors) (2018) Highly deformable hydrogels constructed by pH-triggered polyacid nanoparticle disassembly in aqueous dispersions. Soft Matter, 14 (18). pp. 3510-3520. ISSN 1744-683X
Abstract
Most hydrogels are prepared using small-molecule monomers but unfortunately this approach may not be feasible for certain biomaterial applications. Consequently, alternative gel construction strategies have been established, which include using covalent inter-linking of preformed gel particles, or microgels (MGs). For example, covalently interlinking pH-responsive MGs can produce hydrogels comprising doubly crosslinked microgels (DX MGs). We hypothesised that the deformability of such DX MGs was limited by the presence of intra-MG crosslinking. Thus, in this study we designed new nanoparticle (NP)-based gels based on pH-swellable NPs that are not internally crosslinked. Two polyacid NPs were synthesised containing methacrylic acid (MAA) and either ethyl acrylate (EA) or methyl methacrylate (MMA). The PMAA–EA and PMAA–MMA NPs were subsequently vinyl-functionalised using glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) prior to gel formation via free-radical crosslinking. The NPs mostly disassembled on raising the solution pH but some self-crosslinking was nevertheless evident. The gels constructed from the EA- and MMA-based NPs had greater breaking strains than a control DX MG. The effect of varying the solution pH during curing on the morphology and mechanical properties of gels prepared using PMAA–MMA–GMA NPs was studied and both remarkable deformability and excellent recovery were observed. The gels were strongly pH-responsive and had tensile breaking strains of up to 420% with a compressive strain-at-break of more than 93%. An optimised formulation produced the most deformable and stretchable gel yet constructed using NPs or MGs as the only building block.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2018. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) |
Keywords: | Nanotechnology; Bioengineering |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Chemistry (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ENGINEERING AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL EP/K030949/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 09 Feb 2023 14:17 |
Last Modified: | 09 Feb 2023 14:17 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1039/c8sm00325d |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:196085 |