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Related Concept Videos

Accelerators01:17

Accelerators

Accelerators in concrete serve as admixtures to speed up the hardening process, enabling the concrete to achieve early strength faster. Although accelerators do not necessarily impact the time it takes concrete to set, they reduce this time in practice. A common accelerator is calcium chloride, which is particularly useful for hastening early strength development in cold weather or for rapid repair jobs that require quick heat generation after mixing.
The effectiveness of calcium chloride can...
Retarders01:19

Retarders

Retarders are chemical admixtures designed to extend the setting time, which is especially useful when there is a delay in sequential concrete pours to prevent cold joints and to achieve a cohesive structure. Retarders, when used in appropriate amounts, can also enhance the architectural appearance of exposed aggregate finishes.
The function of retarders is to delay the setting of concrete, and this effect can be measured using a penetration test. The retardation process involves adding...
Plasticizers01:31

Plasticizers

Water-reducers, or plasticizers, are chemical admixtures used in concrete to improve strength and workability. These additives reduce the water-cement ratio without compromising workability, lower the cement content while maintaining the same workability, or increase workability to assist concrete placement in inaccessible areas.
Plasticizers function by using surface-active agents to create repulsive electrostatic forces between cement particles. This dispersion enhances the concrete's...
Superplasticizers01:30

Superplasticizers

Superplasticizers are advanced admixtures that enhance the workability of concrete by lowering the water content without compromising the strength of the material. These substances are highly effective water reducers, improving concrete flow, making it easier to work with, and enabling concrete to reach inaccessible areas or densely reinforced sections without mechanical vibration. The key components in superplasticizers are either sulfonated melamine or naphthalene formaldehyde condensates,...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 26, 2026

An Injectable and Drug-loaded Supramolecular Hydrogel for Local Catheter Injection into the Pig Heart
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Injectable Hydrogels with Tissue-Adaptive Gelation and Mechanical Properties: Enhancing Softness and Stability.

Jessica Garcia1, Foad Vashahi1, Akmal Z Umarov2

  • 1Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.

Gels (Basel, Switzerland)
|December 24, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Ultra-soft injectable hydrogels using bottlebrush polymers mimic tissue extracellular matrix. Longer side chains reduce stiffness, creating stable, soft gels ideal for biomedical uses.

Keywords:
bottlebrush polymersinjectable tissue fillersthermosensitive hydrogelstissue-mimetic mechanical properties

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Area of Science:

  • Biomaterials Science
  • Polymer Chemistry
  • Soft Matter Physics

Background:

  • Injectable hydrogels are crucial for biomedical applications like tissue fillers and regeneration scaffolds.
  • Traditional linear polymers require high dilution to avoid chain entanglement and achieve softness.
  • Bottlebrush polymers offer a solution due to suppressed chain overlap, enabling lower viscosities and softer gels.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To design injectable hydrogels with ultra-soft properties mimicking the extracellular matrix.
  • To investigate the effect of bottlebrush architecture, specifically side chain length, on hydrogel properties.
  • To assess the stability of these hydrogels under physiological conditions.

Main Methods:

  • Synthesis of linear-bottlebrush-linear (LBL) block copolymers with thermosensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (L) and polyethylene glycol brush (B) blocks.
  • Characterization of hydrogel mechanical properties (modulus) as a function of polymer concentration and side chain length.
  • Evaluation of hydrogel thermal stability and hysteresis.

Main Results:

  • Increasing bottlebrush side chain length decreased hydrogel modulus by up to two orders of magnitude (1-100 Pa at 20 wt%).
  • Achieved hydrogel softness comparable to the extracellular matrix at high polymer concentrations (~70% water content).
  • Demonstrated thermal hysteresis, providing stability against body temperature fluctuations.

Conclusions:

  • Bottlebrush architecture in LBL block copolymers enables the creation of ultra-soft injectable hydrogels.
  • Side chain length is a critical parameter for tuning hydrogel stiffness.
  • These soft, stable hydrogels hold significant promise for advanced biomedical applications.