Filters

2020 - 20223

More filters

2020 - 20223
Reset filters

Settings

Start date: 2020 × Subject: dynamic hydrogel ×

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Self-Hydrophobization in a Dynamic Hydrogel for Creating Nonspecific Repeatable Underwater Adhesion
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH Verlag, 2020) Han, L.; Wang, M.; Prieto-López, L.O.; Deng, X.; Cui, J.
    Adhesive hydrogels are widely applied for biological and medical purposes; however, they are generally unable to adhere to tissues under wet/underwater conditions. Herein, described is a class of novel dynamic hydrogels that shows repeatable and long-term stable underwater adhesion to various substrates including wet biological tissues. The hydrogels have Fe3+-induced hydrophobic surfaces, which are dynamic and can undergo a self-hydrophobization process to achieve strong underwater adhesion to a diverse range of dried/wet substrates without the need for additional processes or reagents. It is also demonstrated that the hydrogels can directly adhere to biological tissues in the presence of under sweat, blood, or body fluid exposure, and that the adhesion is compatible with in vivo dynamic movements. This study provides a novel strategy for fabricating underwater adhesive hydrogels for many applications, such as soft robots, wearable devices, tissue adhesives, and wound dressings.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Regulating Bacterial Behavior within Hydrogels of Tunable Viscoelasticity
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2022) Bhusari, Shardul; Sankaran, Shrikrishnan; del Campo, Aránzazu
    Engineered living materials (ELMs) are a new class of materials in which living organism incorporated into diffusive matrices uptake a fundamental role in material's composition and function. Understanding how the spatial confinement in 3D can regulate the behavior of the embedded cells is crucial to design and predict ELM's function, minimize their environmental impact and facilitate their translation into applied materials. This study investigates the growth and metabolic activity of bacteria within an associative hydrogel network (Pluronic-based) with mechanical properties that can be tuned by introducing a variable degree of acrylate crosslinks. Individual bacteria distributed in the hydrogel matrix at low density form functional colonies whose size is controlled by the extent of permanent crosslinks. With increasing stiffness and elastic response to deformation of the matrix, a decrease in colony volumes and an increase in their sphericity are observed. Protein production follows a different pattern with higher production yields occurring in networks with intermediate permanent crosslinking degrees. These results demonstrate that matrix design can be used to control and regulate the composition and function of ELMs containing microorganisms. Interestingly, design parameters for matrices to regulate bacteria behavior show similarities to those elucidated for 3D culture of mammalian cells.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Regulating bacterial behavior within hydrogels of tunable viscoelasticity
    (New York : Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 2022) Bhusari, Shardul; Sankaran, Shrikrishnan; del Campo, Aránzazu
    Engineered living materials (ELMs) are a new class of materials in which living organism incorporated into diffusive matrices uptake a fundamental role in material’s composition and function. Understanding how the spatial confinement in 3D affects the behavior of the embedded cells is crucial to design and predict ELM’s function, regulate and minimize their environmental impact and facilitate their translation into applied materials. This study investigates the growth and metabolic activity of bacteria within an associative hydrogel network (Pluronic-based) with mechanical properties that can be tuned by introducing a variable degree of acrylate crosslinks. Individual bacteria distributed in the hydrogel matrix at low density form functional colonies whose size is controlled by the extent of permanent crosslinks. With increasing stiffness and decreasing plasticity of the matrix, a decrease in colony volumes and an increase in their sphericity is observed. Protein production surprisingly follows a different pattern with higher production yields occurring in networks with intermediate permanent crosslinking degrees. These results demonstrate that, bacterial mechanosensitivity can be used to control and regulate the composition and function of ELMs by thoughtful design of the encapsulating matrix, and by following design criteria with interesting similarities to those developed for 3D culture of mammalian cells.