Design and Fabrication of a High-Strength Hydrogel with Ideally Homogeneous Network Structure from Tetrahedron-like Macromonomers

Progress Toward Robust Polymer Hydrogels

In this review we highlight new developments in tough hydrogel materials in terms of their enhanced mechanical performance and their corresponding toughening mechanisms. These mechanically robust hydrogels have been developed over the past 10 years with many now showing mechanical properties comparable with those of natural tissues. By first reviewing the brittleness of conventional synthetic hydrogels, we introduce each new class of tough hydrogel: homogeneous gels, slip-link gels, double-network gels, nanocomposite gels and gels formed using poly-functional crosslinkers. In each case we provide a description of the fracture process that may be occurring. With the exception of double network gels where the enhanced toughness is quite well understood, these descriptions remain to be confirmed. We also introduce material property charts for conventional and tough synthetic hydrogels to illustrate the wide range of mechanical and swelling properties exhibited by these materials and to highlight links between these properties and the network topology. Finally, we provide some suggestions for further work particularly with regard to some unanswered questions and possible avenues for further enhancement of gel toughness.

Self-oscillating gels driven by the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction as novel smart materials

So far stimuli-responsive polymer gels and their application to smart materials have been widely studied; this research has contributed to progress in gel science and engineering. For their development as a novel biomimetic polymer, studies of polymers with an autonomous self-oscillating function have been carried out since the first reports in 1996. The development of novel self-oscillating polymers and gels have been successful utilizing the oscillating reaction, called the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction, which is recognized as a chemical model for understanding several autonomous phenomena in biological systems. The self-oscillating polymer is composed of a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) network in which the catalyst for the BZ reaction is covalently immobilized. In the presence of the reactants, the polymer undergoes spontaneous cyclic soluble-insoluble changes or swelling-deswelling changes (in the case of gel) without any on-off switching of external stimuli. Potential applications of the self-socillating polymers and gels include several kinds of functional material systems, such as biomimetic actuators and mass transport surface.

Morphology of Photopolymerized End-linked Poly(ethylene glycol) Hydrogels by Small Angle X-ray Scattering

Due to the biocompatibility of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), PEG-based hydrogels have attracted considerable interest for use as biomaterials in tissue engineering applications. In this work, we show that PEG-based hydrogels prepared by photopolymerization of PEG macromonomers functionalized with either acrylate or acrylamide end-groups generate networks with crosslink junctions of high functionality. Although the crosslink functionality is not well controlled, the resultant networks are sufficiently well ordered to generate a distinct correlation peak in the small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) related to the distance between crosslink junctions within the PEG network. The crosslink spacing is a useful probe of the PEG chain conformation within the hydrogel and ranges from approximately 6 to 16 nm, dependent upon both the volume fraction of polymer and the molecular weight of the PEG macromonomers. The presence of a peak in the scattering of photopolymerized PEG networks is also correlated with an enhanced compressive modulus in comparison to PEG networks reported in the literature with much lower crosslink functionality that exhibit no scattering peak. This comparison demonstrates that the method used to link together PEG macromonomers has a critical impact on both the nanoscale structure and the macroscopic properties of the resultant hydrogel network.

Preferential adsorption of poly(ethylene glycol) on hectorite clay and effects on poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/hectorite nanocomposite hydrogels

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/Laponite nanocomposite hydrogel (NC gel) was synthesized via in situ polymerization in the Laponite suspension containing PEG. The adsorption of PEG on Laponite platelets was characterized by zeta-potential, which decreased with the PEG adsorption. The tensile strength decreased and elongation at break increased with increasing PEG concentration. The effective network chain density of PNIPAm/Laponite NC gels determined from the equilibrium modulus G(e) decreased upon adsorption of PEG on the Laponite. All of these results revealed the preferential adsorption of PEG on the Laponite platelets occupying the active sites for the PNIPAm chain anchoring, which hindered their cross-linking effect in the NC gels. However, the temperature sensitive swelling behavior still remained in the PNIPAm/Laponite NC gels containing PEG with higher swelling volume below the LCST due to the lower cross-linker density. By adjusting the amount of added PEG, we can easily control the properties of the PNIPAm/Laponite NC gels.

Hard and soft micro- and nanofabrication: An integrated approach to hydrogel-based biosensing and drug delivery

We review efforts to produce microfabricated glucose sensors and closed-loop insulin delivery systems. These devices function due to the swelling and shrinking of glucose-sensitive microgels that are incorporated into silicon-based microdevices. The glucose response of the hydrogel is due to incorporated phenylboronic acid (PBA) side chains. It is shown that in the presence of glucose, these polymers alter their swelling properties, either by ionization or by formation of glucose-mediated reversible crosslinks. Swelling pressures impinge on microdevice structures, leading either to a change in resonant frequency of a microcircuit, or valving action. Potential areas for future development and improvement are described. Finally, an asymmetric nano-microporous membrane, which may be integrated with the glucose-sensitive devices, is described. This membrane, formed using photolithography and block polymer assembly techniques, can be functionalized to enhance its biocompatibility and solute size selectivity. The work described here features the interplay of design considerations at the supramolecular, nano, and micro scales.

Effect of network topology on phase separation in two-dimensional Lennard-Jones networks

We generate two-dimensional Lennard-Jones networks with random topology by preparing a perfect four-functional network of identical harmonic springs and randomly cutting some of the springs. Using molecular-dynamics simulations we find that the fraction p of active springs affects both the temperature of phase separation and the type of structures observed below this temperature, from networklike high-density patterns at p>0.5 ("gel") to dropletlike structures at p<0.5 ("sol"). In the gel domain, these patterns are determined by the interplay between free energy and network topology, with the former dominant as p-->1 and the latter as p-->0.5 .