Nonmonotonic swelling of agarose‐carbopol hybrid hydrogel: Experimental and theoretical analysis |
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| Authors: | Nader Hamzavi Jean‐Yves Dewavrin Aleksey D Drozdov Erik Birgersson |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore;2. NUS Tissue Engineering Program, National University of Singapore, Singapore;3. NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore;4. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore;5. Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark;6. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore |
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| 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 =  , 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  ], or decreased by the concentration of agarose when  is high  ]. 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. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55, 444–454 |
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| Keywords: | agarose carbopol copolymerization hydrogels mechanical properties modeling stimuli-responsive polymers synthesis |
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, 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 
], or decreased by the concentration of agarose when 
is high 
]. 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. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55, 444–454