Effect of Imposing Spatial Constraints on Low Molecular Weight Gels.

ABSTRACT: We outline the effect of imposing spatial constraints during gelation on hydrogels formed by dipeptide-based low molecular weight gelators. The gels were formed via either a solvent switch or a change in pH and formed in different sized vessels to produce gels of different thickness while maintaining the same volume. The different methods of gelation led to gels with different underlying microstructure. Confocal microscopy was used to visualize the resulting microstructures, while the corresponding mechanical properties were probed via cavitation rheology. We show that solvent-switch-triggered gels are sensitive to imposed spatial constraints, in both altered microstructure and mechanical properties, while their pH-triggered equivalents are not. These results are significant because it is

SUBMITTER: Hill MJS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10498449 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature