Structure-reactivity based control of radical-mediated degradation in thiol-Michael hydrogels.

ABSTRACT: Thiol-Michael addition reactions are widely used for forming cytocompatible and well-defined hydrogels. Numerous types of Michael acceptors have been implemented in these reactions; while maleimides enable rapid crosslinking under physiological conditions and are commonly used for their simplicity, slower-reacting electrophiles such as vinyl sulfones and acrylates offer distinct advantages including improved network homogeneity and ease of handling because of the slower reaction rates. Additionally, thiol-acrylate adducts are hydrolytically labile, whereas thiol-vinyl sulfone adducts are comparably more stable in aqueous environments. Building on our previous work demonstrating radical-mediated degradation of thiol-maleimide hydrogels, we sought to determine whether other thiol-Michael add

SUBMITTER: Kirkpatrick BE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12323595 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature