Amphiphilic Substances as Hydrogel Modifiers

abstract

English

Nowadays, hydrogels are an indispensable material that is occurring in countless different industries where they hold a huge number of functions and applications. Due to biodegradability and biocompatibility, a solution for the potential application is often sought in the physically crosslinked hydrogels Physically crosslinked hydrogels are formed by molecular entanglements and secondary forces including ionic, H-bonding, or hydrophobic forces. They have several advantages compared to chemically crosslinked hydrogels. Specifically, can be highlighted their ability to absorb a large amount of water, and their reversibility, homogeneity, or occurrence of hydrophilic and hydrophobic areas lead to a very high interest in the incorporation of bioactive substances. However, many of their advantages are overshadowed by their poor mechanical properties due to their reversible physical interactions. Therefore, to support their advantages, and bolster their disadvantages, this study deals with modifying the hydrogels by additions of amphiphilic substances into their structure. One of many ways to manoeuvre and control the hydrogel structure and its properties is to incorporate hydrophobic moieties with self-assembly capability into the aqueous environment. Domains formed by the self-assembly impart hydrogel’s properties from the mechanical but also from the functional point of view. The structure and properties of all hydrogel samples were modified by the addition of differently charged surfactants which after overcoming the critical micellar concentration form micelles. Physically crosslinked hydrogel systems were subjected to the complex characterization in their swollen form. The evaluation of viscoelastic properties was carried out by rheology tests consisting of strain and frequency sweep tests, as well as three interval thixotropy tests. The transport properties were evaluated by release dye experiments using a different array of model dyes with different structures and charges.

Hydrogel; rheology; amphiphiles

HEGER, R.; PEKAŘ, M.

29. 6. 2022

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