Chengdu Institute of Biology , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Chengdu 610041 , China.
School of Life Science and Engineering , Southwest Jiaotong University , Chengdu 610031 , China.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2018 Nov 21;10(46):40238-40245. doi: 10.1021/acsami.8b12886. Epub 2018 Nov 9.
Inspired by the functions of leeches, for the first time homogeneous materials integrating hydrogels and elastomers were achieved by free radical polymerization. 2-Methoxyethyl acrylate (MEA) was used as elastomer monomer and Pluronics functionalized with vinyl groups acted as cross-linkers to impart the hydrogel property to the materials. The resulting Pluronic/PMEA gels possess a swelling ratio of about 210% and good water-retaining ability. Compression tests of Pluronic/PMEA gels at swelling equilibrium state show a stress up to 1.6 MPa under 85% strain. The gels act as elastomer after dehydration. Uniaxial tensile fracture stress and the elongation reached 1200 kPa and 500%, respectively, and compression stress was above 22 MPa. Furthermore, the Pluronic/PMEA gels also show self-healing properties. Owing to the excellent mechanical performance in both wet and dry conditions, this hydrogel-elastomer integrated material may have potential applications in tissue engineering, soft robotics, and biomedical devices.
受水蛭功能的启发，首次通过自由基聚合实现了水凝胶和弹性体的均质材料。2-甲氧基乙基丙烯酸酯（MEA）用作弹性体单体，带有乙烯基官能团的 Pluronic 用作交联剂，使材料具有水凝胶特性。所得的 Pluronic/PMEA 凝胶具有约 210%的溶胀比和良好的保水能力。在溶胀平衡状态下对 Pluronic/PMEA 凝胶进行压缩测试，在 85%应变下可达到高达 1.6 MPa 的应力。脱水后，凝胶作为弹性体起作用。单向拉伸断裂应力和伸长率分别达到 1200kPa 和 500%，压缩应力高于 22MPa。此外，Pluronic/PMEA 凝胶还具有自修复性能。由于在湿、干两种条件下都具有优异的机械性能，这种水凝胶-弹性体一体化材料可能在组织工程、软机器人和生物医学设备中有潜在的应用。
