Issue 35, 2018

Shape-memory and self-healing functions of DNA-based carboxymethyl cellulose hydrogels driven by chemical or light triggers

Abstract

Photoresponsive nucleic acid-based carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) hydrogels are synthesized, and their application as shape-memory and self-healing functional matrices are discussed. One system involves the preparation of a carboxymethyl cellulose hydrogel crosslinked by self-complementary nucleic acid duplexes and by photoresponsive trans-azobenzene/β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) supramolecular complexes. Photoisomerization of the trans-azobenzene to the cis-azobenzene results in a hydrogel exhibiting lower stiffness due to the separation of the azobenzene/β-CD bridging units. The hydrogel is switched between high and low stiffness states by the cyclic and reversible light-induced isomerization of the azobenzene units between the trans and cis states. The light-controlled stiffness properties of the hydrogel are used to develop a shape-memory hydrogel, where the duplex bridging units act as permanent memory in the quasi-liquid shapeless state of the hydrogel. A second system in the study is a carboxymethyl cellulose hydrogel crosslinked by the K+-stabilized G-quadruplex bridging units and by trans-azobenzene/β-CD complexes. The resulting hydrogel includes dual-trigger functionalities, where the trans-azobenzene/β-CD complexes can be reversibly formed and dissociated through the trans and cis photoisomerization of the azobenzene units, and the K+-stabilized G-quadruplexes can be reversibly dissociated and reformed in the presence of 18-crown-6-ether/K+-ions. The signal-responsive crosslinked hydrogel reveals controlled stiffness properties, where the hydrogel crosslinked by the trans-azobenzene/β-CD and K+-ion-stabilized G-quadruplex reveals high stiffness and the hydrogel crosslinked only by the K+-ion-stabilized G-quadruplexes or only by the trans-azobenzene/β-CD complexes reveals low stiffness properties. The controlled stiffness properties of the hydrogel are used to develop shape-memory hydrogels, where the trans-azobenzene/β-CD complexes or the K+-ion-stabilized G-quadruplexes act as permanent memories in the shapeless and quasi-liquid states of the hydrogels. In addition, the hydrogel that includes two types of stimuli-responsive crosslinking units is used as a self-healing matrix, where each of the triggers guides the self-healing processes.

Graphical abstract: Shape-memory and self-healing functions of DNA-based carboxymethyl cellulose hydrogels driven by chemical or light triggers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
01 jún. 2018
Accepted
20 júl. 2018
First published
23 júl. 2018
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2018,9, 7145-7152

Shape-memory and self-healing functions of DNA-based carboxymethyl cellulose hydrogels driven by chemical or light triggers

C. Wang, M. Fadeev, J. Zhang, M. Vázquez-González, G. Davidson-Rozenfeld, H. Tian and I. Willner, Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 7145 DOI: 10.1039/C8SC02411A

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