Effects of mechanical stress on the volume phase transition of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) based polymer gels

A mechanically tough and ultra-swellable microneedle for acute gout arthritis

Acute gout arthritis (AGA) remains the fundamental research focus in the entire medical field. Hydrogel microneedles (HMNs) loaded with therapeutic molecules such as colchicine (Col) have been developed as a new tool for the management of AGA in a minimally invasive manner. However, the incompatible mechanical and swelling properties of HMNs limited the diffusion of the drug from the HMN system, which remains a challenge for practical use. Here, a mechanically tough (11.53 N per needle) and super-swelling (2708%) hydrogel microneedle (HMNs) composed of a uniform network structure was developed using a UV-responsive crosslinker through in situ photopolymerization for percutaneous delivery of Col. Such HMNs and Col loaded HMNs (Col-HMNs) present excellent biocompatibility. Moreover, Col-HMNs present considerable anti-inflammatory effects in vivo through down-regulated inflammatory responses such as related cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. These results demonstrated that the mechanically tough and super-swelling HMNs could be a promising tool for effective Col delivery to relieve AGA.

Preparation of irrefrangible polyacrylamide hybrid hydrogels using water-dispersible cyclotetrasiloxane or polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane containing polymerizable groups as cross-linkers

Irrefrangible polyacrylamide hybrid hydrogels were prepared using polymerizable siloxane oligomers as cross-linkers (CyTS-MNa and POSS-MNa, respectively).

Poly(acrylic acid)-grafted poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) networks: preparation, characterization and hydrogel behavior

Poly(acrylic acid)-grafted poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) co-polymer networks (PNIPAAm-g-PAA) were prepared via the reversible addition-fragmentation transfer (RAFT) polymerization of N-isopropyl- acrylamide (NIPAAm) with trithiocarbonate-terminated PAA as a macromolecular chain-transfer agent in the presence of N,N-methylenebisacrylamide. The PNIPAAm-g-PAA co-polymer networks were characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and small-angle X-ray scattering. It is found that the PNIPAAm-g-PAA co-polymer networks were microphase-separated, in which the microdomains of PNIPAAm-PAA interpolymer complexes were dispersed into the PNIPAAm matrix. The PNIPAAm-g-PAA hydrogels displayed a dual response to temperature and pH values. The thermoresponsive properties of PNIPAAm-g-PAA networks were investigated. Below the volume phase transition temperatures, the PNIPAAm-g-PAA hydrogels possessed much higher swelling ratios than control PNIPAAm hydrogel. In terms of swelling, deswelling and reswelling tests, it is judged that the PNIPAAm-g-PAA hydrogels displayed faster response to the external temperature changes than control PNIPAAm hydrogel. The improved thermoresponsive properties of hydrogels are ascribed to the formation of PAA-grafted PNIPAAm networks, in which the water-soluble PAA chains behave as the hydrophiphilic tunnels and allow water molecules to go through and, thus, to accelerate the diffusion of water molecules.

Swelling of thermo-responsive hydrogels

A model is developed for the elastic response and solvent diffusion through a thermo-responsive gel under an arbitrary deformation with finite strains. The constitutive equations involve the stress-strain relation, the nonlinear diffusion equation for solvent molecules, the heat conduction equation, and the Allen-Cahn equation for an order parameter (proportional to the concentration of hydrophilic segments in polymer chains). Material constants are found by fitting swelling diagrams for PNIPA gels under uniaxial tension. Numerical analysis demonstrates good agreement between predictions of the model and observations in tests with stress- and strain-controlled programs.

Thermosensitive hybrid hydrogels with silica nanoparticle-cross-linked polymer networks

A simple methodology for the preparation of thermosensitive organic-inorganic hybrid hydrogels using silica nanoparticle-mediated polymer networks is described. A thermosensitive copolymer poly[N-isopropylacrylamide-co-(3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane)], (pNS), with reactive side chains (Si-O-CH3) was first synthesized by free radical polymerization using N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) and 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MAPTS). Then, simple mixing of the aqueous solution of this copolymer with silica nanoparticle (SiP) suspensions at room temperature led to the formation of thermosensitive hybrid hydrogels cross-linked with silica nanoparticles (SiP) which did not require any other processing like washing for the removal of unreacted monomers and initiators. The effects of SiP content on gelation abilities, temperature-responsive behaviors, swelling and deswelling kinetics, and mechanical properties of the hydrogels were investigated. The results showed that transparent hybrid hydrogels with adjustable network structures were obtained within a few minutes to a couple of hours depending on the concentration of the copolymers and the silica nanoparticles. The hybrid hydrogels exhibited a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of around 33 °C with no significant deviation from conventional poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogels; the LCST was not significantly affected by the concentration of silica nanoparticles (which in these systems serve as the cross-linkers). In addition, the hydrogels showed significantly large equilibrium swelling ratios, improved mechanical strength, and suitable deswelling behavior, which can easily be tuned by varying the composition of the hybrid hydrogels.

Hepta(3,3,3-trifluoropropyl) polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-capped poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) telechelics: synthesis and behavior of physical hydrogels

Hepta(3,3,3-trifluoropropyl) polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS)-capped poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) telechelics with variable lengths of PNIPAAm midblocks were synthesized by the combination of reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT) and the copper-catalyzed Huisgen 1,3-cycloaddition (i.e., click chemistry). The POSS-capped trithiocarbonate was synthesized and used as the chain transfer agent for the RAFT polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide. The organic-inorganic amphiphilic telechelics were characterized by means of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) shows that all the POSS-capped PNIPAAm telechelics exhibited microphase-separated morphologies, in which the POSS terminal groups were self-assembled into the microdomains and dispersed into the continuous PNIPAAm matrices. The POSS nanodomains could behave as the physical cross-linking sites and as a result the physical hydrogels were formed while these POSS-capped PNIPAAm telechelics were subjected to the solubility tests with water. These physical hydrogels possessed well-defined volume phase transition phenomena and displayed rapid reswelling and deswelling thermoresponsive behavior compared to control PNIPAAm hydrogel.

High-strength cellulose/poly(ethylene glycol) gels

Cellulose gel membranes have been prepared by a pre-gelation method employing cellulose solutions in aqueous NaOH-thiourea obtained at low temperature. The cellulose gels were then swollen by low-molecular-weight polyethylene glycol (PEG; MW<1000 g mol(-1)), and the morphology, structure and mechanical properties of the cellulose/PEG gels were studied by various techniques. The gels exhibit high mechanical performance, and the tensile strength of the gel membranes increases sharply with an increase in the molecular weight of PEG from 200 to 800 g mol(-1). Moreover, their elongation at break remains stable at 100 %. PEG800 efficiently improves the optical transmittance of the gel membranes at ambient temperature, which is about five times greater than that of a normal cellulose hydrogel membrane. A strong hydrogen-bonding interaction occurs between PEG and cellulose leading to a homogeneous structure, high mechanical strength and good transparency of the gel membranes.

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) nanocrosslinked by polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane: Temperature-responsive behavior of hydrogels

Octa(propylglycidyl ether) polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (OpePOSS) was used as a nanocrosslinking agent to prepare the crosslinked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) networks with POSS content up to 50 wt%. The inter-component crosslinking was achieved via the reaction between NH moieties in amide group of PNIPAM and epoxide groups of OpePOSS. When the organic-inorganic nanocomposites were swollen in water the POSS-crosslinked PNIPAM exhibited the characteristics of hydrogels. With the moderate contents of POSS, the POSS-containing hybrid hydrogels displayed much faster response rates in swelling, deswelling and reswelling experiments than the PNIPAM hydrogels prepared via the free radical copolymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) and N,N(')-methylenebisacrylamide (viz. the conventional crosslinker). The improved hydrogel properties have been interpreted on the basis of the formation of the nanosized hydrophobic microdomains around the POSS moieties (i.e., the nanocrosslinking sites).