Pore size distribution in multiscale porous media as revealed by DDIF–NMR, mercury porosimetry and statistical image analysis

Injectable Conductive Hydrogels with Tunable Degradability as Novel Implantable Bioelectrodes

Bioelectrodes have been developed to efficiently mediate electrical signals of biological systems as stimulators and recording devices. Recently, conductive hydrogels have garnered great attention as emerging materials for bioelectrode applications because they can permit intimate/conformal contact with living tissues and tissue-like softness. However, administration and control over the in vivo lifetime of bioelectrodes remain challenges. Here, injectable conductive hydrogels (ICHs) with tunable degradability as implantable bioelectrodes are developed. ICHs were constructed via thiol-ene reactions using poly(ethylene glycol)-tetrathiol and thiol-functionalized reduced graphene oxide with either hydrolyzable poly(ethylene glycol)-diacrylate or stable poly(ethylene glycol)-dimaleimide, the resultant hydrogels of which are degradable and nondegradable, respectively. The ICH electrodes had conductivities of 21-22 mS cm^-1 and Young's moduli of 15-17 kPa, and showed excellent cell and tissue compatibility. The hydrolyzable conductive hydrogels disappeared 3 days after in vivo administration, while the stable conductive hydrogels maintained their shapes for up to 7 days. Our proof-of-concept studies reveal that electromyography signals with significantly improved sensitivity from rats could be obtained from the injected ICH electrodes compared to skin electrodes and injected nonconductive hydrogel electrodes. The ICHs, offering convenience in use, controllable degradation and excellent signal transmission, will have great potential to develop various bioelectronics devices.

Usage of internal magnetic fields to study the early hydration process of cement paste by MGSE method

Internal magnetic field gradients, arising within the porous media due to susceptibility differences at the interfaces of solid and liquid as well as due to the contained magnetic impurities, can be employed by the method of modulated gradient spin echo to get insight into the velocity autocorrelation spectrum of liquid confined in the porous structure. New theoretical treatment of spin interaction with the radio-frequency field and the simultaneously applied static non-uniform magnetic field provides the formula that match well with the measurement of restricted diffusion of water in pores of cement paste. Its fitting to the experimental data gives the changes in the mean size of capillary pores, the spin relaxation and the magnitude of mean internal magnetic field gradients during the induction period and early acceleration stage of hydration processes at different temperatures.

Frequency-dependent NMR relaxation of liquids confined inside porous media containing an increased amount of magnetic impurities

Frequency-dependent NMR relaxation studies have been carried out on water (polar) and cyclohexane (nonpolar) molecules confined inside porous ceramics containing variable amounts of iron oxide (III). The porous ceramics were prepared by compression of powders mixed with iron oxide followed by thermal treatment. The pore size distribution was estimated using a technique based on diffusion in internal fields that exposed a narrow distribution of macropore sizes with an average pore dimension independent of iron oxide content. The relaxation dispersion curves were obtained at room temperature using a fast field cycling NMR instrument. They display an increase of the relaxation rate proportional to the iron oxide concentration. This behavior is more prominent at low Larmor frequencies and is independent of the polar character of the confined molecules. The results reported here can be fitted well with a relaxation model considering exchange between molecules in the close vicinity of the paramagnetic centers located in the surface and bulk-like molecules inside the pores. This model allows the extraction of the transverse diffusional correlation time that can be related to the polar character of the confined molecules.