1 research outputs found
pH-Ionizable <i>in Situ</i> Gelling Poly(oligo ethylene glycol methacrylate)-Based Hydrogels: The Role of Internal Network Structures in Controlling Macroscopic Properties
The incorporation
of charge within <i>in situ</i> covalently
gelling polyÂ(oligo ethylene glycol methacrylate) (POEGMA) precursor
polymers enables the fabrication of hydrogels that exhibit both pH-responsive
swelling and tunable network structures due to multimechanism cross-linking
interactions. The gelation times, swelling responses, degradation
kinetics, and mechanics of the resulting gels were strongly influenced
by both the type of charge(s) incorporated and pH, with both amphoteric
gels and anionic gels showing clear evidence of dual network formation.
While the amphoteric dual network was anticipated due to charge interactions,
the mechanism of the 5-fold enhancement in mechanical properties observed
with the anionic gel relative to the neutral gel was revealed by isothermal
titration calorimetry and small-angle neutron scattering to relate
to the formation of a zippered chain structure based on dipole–dipole
interactions. Consequently, rational design of the chemistry and the
microscopic network structure results in controllable macroscopic
properties amenable to potential biomedical applications