Zhu Shilei, Wang Yan, Wang Zhe, Chen Lin, Zhu Fengbo, Ye Yanan, Zheng Yong, Yu Wenwen, Zheng Qiang
College of Physics, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China.
College of Materials Science & Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China.
Gels. 2023 Feb 9;9(2):145. doi: 10.3390/gels9020145.
Biological soft tissues are intrinsically viscoelastic materials which play a significant role in affecting the activity of cells. As potential artificial alternatives, double-network (DN) gels, however, are pure elastic and mechanically time independent. The viscoelasticization of DN gels is an urgent challenge in enabling DN gels to be used for advanced development of biomaterial applications. Herein, we demonstrate a simple approach to regulate the viscoelasticity of tough double-network (DN) hydrogels by forming sulfonate-metal coordination. Owing to the dynamic nature of the coordination bonds, the resultant hydrogels possess highly viscoelastic, mechanical time-dependent, and self-recovery properties. Rheological measurements are performed to investigate the linear dynamic mechanical behavior at small strains. The tensile tests and cyclic tensile tests are also systematically performed to evaluate the rate-dependent large deformation mechanical behaviors and energy dissipation behaviors of various ion-loaded DN hydrogels. It has been revealed based on the systematic analysis that robust strong sulfonate-Zr coordination interactions not only serve as dynamic crosslinks imparting viscoelastic rate-dependent mechanical performances, but also strongly affect the relative strength of the first PAMPS network, thereby increasing the yielding stress σ and the fracture stress at break σ and reducing the stretch ratio at break λ. It is envisioned that the viscoelasticization of DN gels enables versatile applications in the biomedical and engineering fields.
生物软组织是本质上具有粘弹性的材料,在影响细胞活性方面发挥着重要作用。然而,作为潜在的人工替代物,双网络(DN)凝胶是纯弹性的且力学性能与时间无关。DN凝胶的粘弹性化是使DN凝胶能够用于生物材料应用的高级开发的一项紧迫挑战。在此,我们展示了一种通过形成磺酸盐 - 金属配位来调节坚韧的双网络(DN)水凝胶粘弹性的简单方法。由于配位键的动态性质,所得水凝胶具有高粘弹性、力学性能随时间变化以及自我恢复特性。进行流变学测量以研究小应变下的线性动态力学行为。还系统地进行了拉伸试验和循环拉伸试验,以评估各种离子负载的DN水凝胶的速率依赖性大变形力学行为和能量耗散行为。基于系统分析表明,强大的磺酸盐 - 锆配位相互作用不仅作为动态交联赋予粘弹性速率依赖性力学性能,而且强烈影响第一个聚(2 - 丙烯酰胺 - 2 - 甲基丙磺酸)(PAMPS)网络的相对强度,从而增加屈服应力σ和断裂时的断裂应力σ,并降低断裂伸长率λ。可以设想,DN凝胶的粘弹性化使其能够在生物医学和工程领域得到广泛应用。