Mugnai Mauro L, Tchuenkam Batoum Rose, Del Gado Emanuela
Institute for Soft Matter Synthesis and Metrology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057.
Department of Physics, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025 May 13;122(19):e2423293122. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2423293122. Epub 2025 May 6.
Natural and synthetic multicomponent gels display emergent properties, which implies that they are more than just the sum of their components. This warrants the investigation of the role played by interspecies interactions in shaping gel architecture and rheology. Here, using computer simulations, we investigate the effect of changing the strength of the interactions between two species forming a fibrous double network. Simply changing the strength of interspecies lateral association, we generate two types of gels: one in which the two components demix and another one in which the two species wrap around each other. We show that demixed gels have structure and rheology that are largely unaffected by the strength of attraction between the components. In contrast, architecture and material properties of intertwined gels strongly depend on interspecies "stickiness" and volume exclusion. These results can be used as the basis of a design principle for double networks which are made to emphasize either stability to perturbations or responsiveness to stimuli. Similar ideas could be used to interpret naturally occurring multicomponent gels.
天然和合成的多组分凝胶具有涌现特性，这意味着它们不仅仅是其各组分的简单加和。这就需要研究种间相互作用在塑造凝胶结构和流变学中所起的作用。在此，我们通过计算机模拟，研究了改变形成纤维状双网络的两种物质之间相互作用强度的影响。仅通过改变种间横向缔合的强度，我们生成了两种类型的凝胶：一种是两种组分发生 demix 的凝胶，另一种是两种物质相互缠绕的凝胶。我们表明，demix 凝胶的结构和流变学在很大程度上不受组分间吸引力强度的影响。相比之下，交织凝胶的结构和材料特性强烈依赖于种间的“粘性”和体积排斥。这些结果可作为双网络设计原则的基础，该双网络旨在强调对扰动的稳定性或对刺激的响应性。类似的观点可用于解释天然存在的多组分凝胶。
