Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 7, 2026
07:24
Author Spotlight: Advancing Therapeutics with Biocompatible Sodium Alginate Hydrogel Microspheres
Published on: June 7, 2024
3.3K
High Strength Multifunctional Multiwalled Hydrogel Tubes: Ion-Triggered Shape Memory, Antibacterial, and
Bing Xu1, Yongmao Li1, Fei Gao1
1†School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Composite and Functional Materials, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|July 16, 2015
Summary
This study developed ion-responsive hydrogels (PVV) with enhanced strength and shape memory via copolymerization and zinc ion coordination. These advanced hydrogels show antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and wound healing properties, making them promising for tissue engineering.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Polymer Chemistry
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Hydrogels are versatile biomaterials, but often lack sufficient mechanical strength and integrated functionalities for advanced applications.
- Developing stimuli-responsive hydrogels with tunable properties is crucial for tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize ion-responsive, hydrogen-bonding strengthened hydrogels (PVV) with enhanced mechanical properties and integrated functionalities.
- To investigate the effect of zinc ions on the mechanical properties, shape memory, and biological activities of the developed hydrogels.
- To evaluate the potential of these hydrogels as tissue engineering scaffolds.
Main Methods:
- One-pot copolymerization of 2-vinyl-4,6-diamino-1,3,5-triazine (VDT), 1-vinylimidazole (VI), and polyethylene glycol diacrylate to form PVV hydrogels.
- Incorporation of zinc ions (Zn2+) to enhance mechanical properties and induce shape memory.
- Fabrication of multiwalled hydrogel tubes (MWHT) and solid hydrogel cylinders (SHC) for comparative analysis.
- In vivo subcutaneous implantation in rats to assess anti-inflammatory and wound healing effects.
Main Results:
- PVV hydrogels exhibited significantly enhanced tensile/compressive strength, elasticity, modulus, and fracture energy due to diaminotriazine-diaminotriazine (DAT-DAT) H-bonding and VI copolymerization.
- Zinc ion incorporation further improved mechanical properties and enabled shape fixation.
- Zinc ion release provided an antibacterial effect without compromising the shape memory.
- MWHTs showed superior flexural strength and sustained zinc ion release compared to SHCs.
- In vivo studies demonstrated anti-inflammatory and wound healing efficacies of Zn(2+)-fixed MWHTs.
Conclusions:
- The synthesized PVV hydrogels possess high strength, ion-responsiveness, and shape memory capabilities.
- The integration of zinc ions imparts antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and wound healing properties.
- The developed multiwalled hydrogel tubes show promise for biomedical applications.
- These high-performance hydrogels hold significant potential as scaffolds for tissue engineering.
