Issue 7, 2019

Probing the self-assembled structures and pKa of hydrogels using electrochemical methods

Abstract

The surface chemistry of the aggregated structures that form the scaffold in self-assembled hydrogels – their charge, hydrophobicity and ion-binding dynamics – plays an important role in determining the gel properties and the gel's suitability for specific applications. However, there are limited methods available for the study of this surface chemistry. Here, we show that electrochemical techniques can be used to measure the surface chemical properties of the self-assembled aggregate structures and also to determine the pKa of the gelators. We also provide a method to quickly determine whether a functionalised-dipeptide will form a gel or not. This method has scope for use in high-throughput screening and further complex pH-triggered self-assembled gelation systems.

Graphical abstract: Probing the self-assembled structures and pKa of hydrogels using electrochemical methods

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
30 Nov 2018
Accepted
14 Jan 2019
First published
14 Jan 2019
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Soft Matter, 2019,15, 1522-1528

Probing the self-assembled structures and pKa of hydrogels using electrochemical methods

E. R. Cross and D. J. Adams, Soft Matter, 2019, 15, 1522 DOI: 10.1039/C8SM02430H

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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