PH-Sensitive Poly(acrylic acid)-g-poly(L-lysine) Charge-Driven Self-Assembling Hydrogels with 3D-Printability and Self-Healing Properties.

ABSTRACT: We report the rheological behavior of aqueous solutions of a graft copolymer polyampholyte, constituted of polyacrylic acid (PAA) backbone grafted by Poly(L-lysine) (PAA-b-PLL). The graft copolymer self-assembles in aqueous media, forming a three-dimensional (3D) network through polyelectrolyte complexation of the oppositely charged PAA and PLL segments. Rheological investigations showed that the hydrogel exhibits interesting properties, namely, relatively low critical gel concentration, elastic response with slow dynamics, remarkable extended critical strain to flow, shear responsiveness, injectability, 3D printability and self-healing. Due to the weak nature of the involved polyelectrolyte segments, the hydrogel properties display pH-dependency, and they are affected by the presen

SUBMITTER: Kargaki ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10379232 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature