Yielding Behavior in Injectable Hydrogels from Telechelic Proteins.

ABSTRACT: Injectable hydrogels show substantial promise for use in minimally invasive tissue engineering and drug delivery procedures.1,2 A new injectable hydrogel material, developed from recombinant telechelic proteins expressed in E. coli, demonstrates shear thinning by three orders of magnitude at large strains. Large amplitude oscillatory shear illustrates that shear thinning is due to yielding within the bulk of the gel, and the rheological response and flow profiles are consistent with a shear-banding mechanism for yielding. The sharp yielding transition and large magnitude of the apparent shear thinning allow gels to be injected through narrow gauge needles with only gentle hand pressure. After injection the gels reset to full elastic strength in seconds due to rapid reformation of the physi

SUBMITTER: Olsen BD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3017468 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature