School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, U.K.
Biomacromolecules. 2023 Sep 11;24(9):4253-4262. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.3c00559. Epub 2023 Aug 18.
We outline the effect of imposing spatial constraints during gelation on hydrogels formed by dipeptide-based low molecular weight gelators. The gels were formed via either a solvent switch or a change in pH and formed in different sized vessels to produce gels of different thickness while maintaining the same volume. The different methods of gelation led to gels with different underlying microstructure. Confocal microscopy was used to visualize the resulting microstructures, while the corresponding mechanical properties were probed via cavitation rheology. We show that solvent-switch-triggered gels are sensitive to imposed spatial constraints, in both altered microstructure and mechanical properties, while their pH-triggered equivalents are not. These results are significant because it is often necessary to form gels of different thicknesses for different analytical techniques. Also, gels of different thicknesses are utilized between various applications of these materials. Our data show that it is important to consider the spatial constraints imposed in these situations.
我们概述了在凝胶化过程中施加空间约束对基于二肽的低分子量凝胶形成的水凝胶的影响。这些凝胶通过溶剂转换或 pH 值变化形成，并在不同大小的容器中形成，以在保持相同体积的情况下产生不同厚度的凝胶。不同的凝胶化方法导致凝胶具有不同的基础微观结构。共焦显微镜用于可视化所得的微观结构，而相应的机械性能则通过空化流变学进行探测。我们表明，溶剂触发凝胶对施加的空间约束敏感，表现在改变的微观结构和机械性能方面，而 pH 触发凝胶则不然。这些结果意义重大，因为通常需要为不同的分析技术形成不同厚度的凝胶。此外，这些材料的各种应用之间也使用了不同厚度的凝胶。我们的数据表明，在这些情况下，考虑所施加的空间约束非常重要。
