Engineering Thermo-Responsive Hydrogels with Tailored Mechanics for Biomedical Integration.

ABSTRACT: Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) hydrogels exhibit temperature-responsive volume changes near physiological temperature, but their low mechanical strength in the swollen state limits use in structurally demanding biomedical applications. In this study, we systematically investigated poly(NIPAAm-co-acrylamide), P(NIPAAm-co-AAm), hydrogels with varying AAm-to-NIPAAm ratios to explore the compositional trade-offs between thermal responsiveness and mechanical performance. Hydrogels were synthesized under fixed crosslinker and water content conditions, and evaluated through compressive mechanical testing, thermal swelling analysis, and crosslinking density estimation. Our results show that increasing AAm content enhances mechanical strength and stiffness but reduces the magnitude of temper

SUBMITTER: Choi S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12431455 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature