Abstract
A hybrid gel is synthesized by physical mixing of agarose and carbopol and an interpenetrating network of Agarose-Carbopol (AC) hybrid gel is observed by atomic force microscopy. This hybrid gel exhibits pH-responsiveness and mechanical stability as well as tunable swelling. These hydrogels depict a nonmonotonic swelling behavior as a function of pH. In particular, the equilibrium degree of swelling increases with pH of bath solution until its maximum value around pH = 7–9, followed by a decrease at higher pH values. The degree of swelling is increased by the concentration of carbopol when the concentration of agarose is low [0.25% W/V],, or decreased by the concentration of agarose when Cagarose is high [[>0:5% W/V]. A physics-based model is also adapted to characterize the swelling-shrinking behavior of different compositions of AC gels. This swelling-shrinking behavior of AC hydrogels will have potential applications in smart hydrogel-based devices.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Journal of Polymer Science, Part B: Polymer Physics |
Volume | 55 |
Issue number | 5 |
Pages (from-to) | 444-454 |
Number of pages | 11 |
ISSN | 0887-6266 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Mar 2017 |
Keywords
- agarose
- carbopol
- copolymerization
- hydrogels
- mechanical properties
- modeling
- stimuli-responsive polymers
- synthesis