Issue 31, 2020

Anisotropic, porous hydrogels templated by lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals

Abstract

Approaches to control the microstructure of hydrogels enable the control of cell–material interactions and the design of stimuli-responsive materials. We report a versatile approach for the synthesis of anisotropic polyacrylamide hydrogels using lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal (LCLC) templating. The orientational order of LCLCs in a mold can be patterned by controlling surface anchoring conditions, which in turn patterns the polymer network. The resulting hydrogels have tunable pore size and mechanical anisotropy. For example, the elastic moduli measured parallel and perpendicular to the LCLC order are 124.9 ± 6.4 kPa and 17.4 ± 1.1 kPa for a single composition. The resulting anisotropic hydrogels also have 30% larger swelling normal to the LCLC orientation than along the LCLC orientation. By patterning the LCLC order, this anisotropic swelling can be used to create 3D hydrogel structures. These anisotropic gels can also be functionalized with extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and used as compliant substrata for cell culture. As an illustrative example, we show that the patterned hydrogel microstructure can be used to direct the orientation of cultured human corneal fibroblasts. This strategy to make anisotropic hydrogels has potential for enabling patternable tissue scaffolds, soft robotics, or microfluidic devices.

Graphical abstract: Anisotropic, porous hydrogels templated by lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
05 4 2020
Accepted
22 6 2020
First published
24 6 2020
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2020,8, 6988-6998

Anisotropic, porous hydrogels templated by lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals

S. Wang, D. P. Maruri, J. M. Boothby, X. Lu, L. K. Rivera-Tarazona, V. D. Varner and T. H. Ware, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2020, 8, 6988 DOI: 10.1039/D0TB00904K

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