Elastic-Plastic Transformation of Polyelectrolyte Complex Hydrogels from Chitosan and Sodium Hyaluronate.

ABSTRACT: Hydrogels formed by polyelectrolyte complexation (PEC) of oppositely charged biopolymers, free of any chemical additives, are promising biomaterials. In this work, the mechanical behavior of hydrogels consisting of positively charged chitosan and negatively charged sodium hyaluronate (HA) at balanced charge composition is investigated. These hydrogels exhibit strong tensile strain and strain rate dependence. They are elastic-like, independent of the strain rate at small strain, but exhibit plastic-like behavior above the yield point by showing a monotonous decrease of the stress. The cyclic tensile test demonstrates that these hydrogels exhibit small and quickly recoverable hysteresis in the elastic-like region, but large and partially recoverable hysteresis above the yield point. The stre

SUBMITTER: Shi R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6449056 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature