Self-healing Hydrogel
Self-healing Hydrogel - Related Videos
07:25
Collagen Hydrogels
0 Views •
2023
Collagen is another widely used biomaterial that has found popularity in commercial applications, such as photography. Collagen has more recently been used in tissue engineering applications, by creating hydrogels that provide structure to engineered tissue. This video introduces collagen as a biomaterial, demonstrates how it is harvested from porcine skin, and shows how the material is used to create a hydrogel for tissue engineering applications. Finally, several applications of the material...
08:33
Hydrogel Synthesis
0 Views •
2023
Source: Amber N. Barron, Ashlea Patterson, and Taylor D. Sparks, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT Hydrogels are a versatile class of cross-linked polymers produced through relatively simple procedures and with generally inexpensive materials. They can be formed from solution and involve a polymer backbone formed from monomer reagents, an initiator which makes the polymer reactive and a crosslinking species which binds the polymer chains...
08:05
Preparation of Chitosan-based Injectable Hydrogels and Its Application in 3D Cell Culture
0 Views •
Cited by 13 •
2017
Here we describe a facile preparation of chitosan-based injectable hydrogels using dynamic imine chemistry. Methods to adjust the hydrogel’s mechanical strength and its application in 3D cell culture are presented.
09:47
FRET Imaging in Three-dimensional Hydrogels
0 Views •
Cited by 3 •
2016
Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) imaging is a powerful tool for real-time cell biology studies. Here a method for FRET imaging cells in physiologic three-dimensional (3D) hydrogel microenvironments using conventional epifluorescence microscopy is presented. An analysis for ratiometric FRET probes that yields linear ratios over the activation range is described.
07:48
Engineering a Bilayered Hydrogel to Control ASC Differentiation
0 Views •
Cited by 12 •
2012
This protocol focuses on utilizing the inherent ability of stem cells to take cue from their surrounding extracellular matrix and be induced to differentiate into multiple phenotypes. This methods manuscript extends our description and characterization of a model utilizing a bilayered hydrogel, composed of PEG-fibrin and collagen, to simultaneously co-differentiate adipose-derived stem cells1.
FAQs
Recovery depends on the type of reversible connection built into the polymer network. Reversible covalent bonds reconnect through bond reformation, whereas dynamic noncovalent interactions rely on attractions that can repeatedly break and re-form. This chemical choice determines how fractured polymer chains reconnect and helps researchers tune the material for structural recovery after damage.
Several interactions can serve as temporary connections between fractured polymer chains. Hydrogen bonding, ionic attraction, host–guest recognition, and metal–ligand coordination each provide a reversible way to link separated network regions when damaged surfaces meet. Their inclusion gives chemists multiple molecular strategies for designing hydrogels that regain structure without relying on a single type of bonding.
Contact between the fractured surfaces is central to recovery because the polymer chains must approach one another before their reversible bonds or interactions can reconnect. Some systems recover autonomously, while others require a stimulus-assisted process. The balance between these behaviors depends on the hydrogel’s tunable chemistry and the dynamic connections incorporated into its network.
Dynamic interactions allow connections within the polymer network to break during damage and reconnect afterward. This repeated reformation helps the material recover its structure rather than permanently losing network continuity after mechanical stress. As a result, self-healing chemistry supports hydrogels designed to maintain function and contributes to the development of more durable, adaptive materials.
The recovery sequence begins when damage separates or fractures parts of the polymer network. The affected surfaces are brought into contact, allowing reversible covalent bonds or dynamic noncovalent interactions to reconnect polymer chains. Depending on the formulation, this reconnection occurs autonomously or with stimulus assistance, producing structural recovery that can help restore material function.
Researchers may select these hydrogels when a water-rich material must recover after mechanical stress. Their tunable chemistry supports investigation in drug delivery, wound dressings, and tissue engineering, where maintaining a functional network can be valuable. The same repair-oriented design also makes them relevant to research on adaptive biomaterials and chemically responsive material systems.
In chemistry, these materials provide a way to study how reversible covalent bonds and dynamic molecular attractions control macroscopic recovery. In materials science, their high water content and repairable networks support designs for soft robotics and flexible sensors. They also serve as models for creating durable, adaptive, and biomimetic materials whose structure responds to damage.