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Updated: Apr 1, 2026

Simple Polyacrylamide-based Multiwell Stiffness Assay for the Study of Stiffness-dependent Cell Responses
Published on: March 25, 2015
Phase-Separation-Induced Anomalous Stiffening, Toughening, and Self-Healing of Polyacrylamide Gels
Koshiro Sato1, Tasuku Nakajima2, Toshiyuki Hisamatsu1
1Laboratory of Soft and Wet Matter, Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University, Kita-10, Nishi-8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japan.
Abstract:
Novel, tough, strong, and self-healable poly-acrylamide (PAAm) gels are fabricated by inducing an appropriate phase-separation structure using a poor solvent. The phase separation induces a gel-glass-like transition of the PAAm gels, providing the gels an anomalously high modulus (211 MPa), fracture stress (7.13 MPa), and fracture energy (4.16 × 10(4) J m(-2)), while keeping a high solvent content (≈60 vol%).

