Sánchez Jesús, Ulloa Jose, Oyarzún Yessenia, Ceballos Matías, Ruiz Carla, Boury Bruno, Urbano Bruno F
Departamento de Polímeros, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile.
ICGM, CNRS, University Montpellier, ENSCM, 34293 Montpellier, France.
Gels. 2024 Oct 2;10(10):638. doi: 10.3390/gels10100638.
Incorporating nanoparticles into injectable hydrogels is a well-known technique for improving the mechanical properties of these materials. However, significant differences in the mechanical properties of the polymer matrix and the nanoparticles can result in localized stress concentrations at the polymer-nanoparticle interface. This situation can lead to problems such as particle-matrix debonding, void formation, and material failure. This work introduces boronic acid/boronate ester dynamic covalent bonds (DCBs) as energy dissipation sites to mitigate stress concentrations at the polymer-nanoparticle interface. Once boronic acid groups were immobilized on the surface of SiO nanoparticles (SiO-BA) and incorporated into an alginate matrix, the nanocomposite hydrogels exhibited enhanced viscoelastic properties. Compared to unmodified SiO nanoparticles, introducing SiO nanoparticles with boronic acid on their surface improved the structural integrity and stability of the hydrogel. In addition, nanoparticle-reinforced hydrogels showed increased stiffness and deformation resistance compared to controls. These properties were dependent on nanoparticle concentration. Injectability tests showed shear-thinning behavior for the modified hydrogels with injection force within clinically acceptable ranges and superior recovery.
将纳米颗粒掺入可注射水凝胶中是一种改善这些材料机械性能的知名技术。然而,聚合物基质和纳米颗粒的机械性能存在显著差异,这可能导致聚合物 - 纳米颗粒界面处出现局部应力集中。这种情况可能会引发诸如颗粒 - 基质脱粘、空隙形成和材料失效等问题。这项工作引入硼酸/硼酸酯动态共价键(DCB)作为能量耗散位点,以减轻聚合物 - 纳米颗粒界面处的应力集中。一旦硼酸基团固定在SiO纳米颗粒(SiO - BA)表面并掺入藻酸盐基质中,纳米复合水凝胶就表现出增强的粘弹性。与未改性的SiO纳米颗粒相比,引入表面带有硼酸的SiO纳米颗粒改善了水凝胶的结构完整性和稳定性。此外,与对照相比,纳米颗粒增强的水凝胶显示出更高的刚度和抗变形能力。这些性能取决于纳米颗粒的浓度。可注射性测试表明,改性水凝胶具有剪切变稀行为,注射力在临床可接受范围内,并且具有优异的恢复性能。