Issue 48, 2016

Highly hemo-compatible, mechanically strong, and conductive dual cross-linked polymer hydrogels

Abstract

A new class of hydrogels distinguished by electro-conductivity and high hemo-compatibility, which resemble biological tissues, are promising candidates for a plethora of biomedical applications. This work describes the design of highly elastic and biocompatible hydrogels using polypyrrole (PPy) as the conductivity media. The bio-inspired design of heparin-mimicking sodium alginate (HMSA) combined with tough alginate/polyacrylamide (PAM) is selected to form chemical and physical cross-linked binary hydrogel networks, while the incorporation of interfacial polymerized PPy endows the hydrogels with electro-conductivity. The resulting hydrogels exhibit a mesh-like hierarchical structure with excellent mechanical strength; moreover, the hydrogels show greatly enhanced electro-conductivity (up to 0.63 S m−1). In addition, due to the presence of the unique heparin-mimicking structure, the hydrogels possess a desirable anticoagulant ability and biocompatibility demonstrated via antithrombotic evaluations together with cell culture observations. The facile synthesis of HMSA/PAM/PPy hydrogels and their robust physical, chemical and biological performance make them attractive components for the future generation of biosensors and bioelectrodes.

Graphical abstract: Highly hemo-compatible, mechanically strong, and conductive dual cross-linked polymer hydrogels

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
02 Sep 2016
Accepted
16 Nov 2016
First published
16 Nov 2016

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2016,4, 8016-8024

Highly hemo-compatible, mechanically strong, and conductive dual cross-linked polymer hydrogels

W. Zhao, Z. Han, L. Ma, S. Sun and C. Zhao, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2016, 4, 8016 DOI: 10.1039/C6TB02259F

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