Particle Diffusivity and Free-Energy Profiles in Hydrogels from Time-Resolved Penetration Data.

ABSTRACT: A combined experimental and theoretical method to simultaneously determine diffusivity and free-energy profiles of particles that penetrate into inhomogeneous hydrogel systems is presented. As the only input, arbitrarily normalized concentration profiles from fluorescence intensity data of labeled tracer particles for different penetration times are needed. The method is applied to dextran molecules of varying size that penetrate into hydrogels of polyethylene-glycol chains with different lengths that are covalently cross-linked by hyperbranched polyglycerol hubs. Extracted dextran bulk diffusivities agree well with fluorescence correlation spectroscopy data obtained separately. Empirical scaling laws for dextran diffusivities and free energies inside the hydrogel are identified as a funct

SUBMITTER: Wolde-Kidan A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7896003 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature