Le Roi Baptiste, Grolman Joshua M
Materials Science and Engineering Department, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel.
ACS Macro Lett. 2025 Feb 18;14(2):176-181. doi: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.4c00653. Epub 2025 Jan 27.
In complex networks and fluids such as the extracellular matrix, the mechanical properties are substantially affected by the movement of polymers both part of and entrapped in the network. As many cells are sensitive to the mechanical remodeling of their surroundings, it is important to appreciate how entrapped polymers may inhibit or facilitate remodeling in the network. Here, we explore a molecular-level understanding of network remodeling in a complex hydrogel environment through successive compressive loading and the role that noninteracting polymers may play in a dynamic network. We find that this is a highly localized and time-dependent effect, with one of the major driving factors of hydrogel matrix remodeling the interaction and movement of water within the network in calcium-cross-linked alginate. Our results suggest a more general mechanistic understanding of hydrogel remodeling, with implications for tissue transformations in disease, biomaterials, and food science formulation.
在复杂网络和诸如细胞外基质的流体中，机械性能会受到网络中部分聚合物以及被困在网络中的聚合物运动的显著影响。由于许多细胞对其周围环境的机械重塑敏感，因此了解被困聚合物如何抑制或促进网络重塑非常重要。在这里，我们通过连续压缩加载，探索在复杂水凝胶环境中对网络重塑的分子水平理解，以及非相互作用聚合物在动态网络中可能发挥的作用。我们发现这是一种高度局部化且随时间变化的效应，水凝胶基质重塑的主要驱动因素之一是钙交联藻酸盐网络内水的相互作用和运动。我们的结果表明对水凝胶重塑有更普遍的机理理解，这对疾病中的组织转化、生物材料和食品科学配方具有启示意义。
