TY - JOUR
T1 - Controlling the gelation temperature of biomimetic polyisocyanides
AU - Kouwer, Paul H.J.
AU - de Almeida, Paula
AU - ven den Boomen, Onno
AU - Eksteen-Akeroyd, Zaskia H.
AU - Hammink, Roel
AU - Jaspers, Maarten
AU - Kragt, Stijn
AU - Mabesoone, Mathijs F.J.
AU - Nolte, Roeland J.M.
AU - More Authors, null
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Thermosensitive polymers show an entropy-driven transition from a well-solvated to a poorly solvated polymer chain, resulting in a more compact globular conformation. The transition at the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) is often sharp, which allows for a wide range of smart material applications. At the LCST, oligo(ethylene glycol)-substituted polyisocyanides (PICs) form soft hydrogels, composed of polymer bundles similar to biological gels, such as actin, fibrin and intermediate filaments. Here, we show that the LCST of PICs strongly depends linearly on the length of the ethylene glycol (EG) tails; every EG group increases the LCST and thus the gelation temperature by nearly 30 °C. Using a copolymerisation approach, we demonstrate that we can precisely tailor the gelation temperature between 10 °C and 60 °C and, consequently, tune the mechanical properties of the PIC gels.
AB - Thermosensitive polymers show an entropy-driven transition from a well-solvated to a poorly solvated polymer chain, resulting in a more compact globular conformation. The transition at the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) is often sharp, which allows for a wide range of smart material applications. At the LCST, oligo(ethylene glycol)-substituted polyisocyanides (PICs) form soft hydrogels, composed of polymer bundles similar to biological gels, such as actin, fibrin and intermediate filaments. Here, we show that the LCST of PICs strongly depends linearly on the length of the ethylene glycol (EG) tails; every EG group increases the LCST and thus the gelation temperature by nearly 30 °C. Using a copolymerisation approach, we demonstrate that we can precisely tailor the gelation temperature between 10 °C and 60 °C and, consequently, tune the mechanical properties of the PIC gels.
KW - Biomimetic polymers
KW - Lower critical solution temperature
KW - Mechanical properties
KW - Polyisocyanides
KW - Smart materials
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85035230987&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.cclet.2017.11.002
DO - 10.1016/j.cclet.2017.11.002
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85035230987
SN - 1001-8417
VL - 29
SP - 281
EP - 284
JO - Chinese Chemical Letters
JF - Chinese Chemical Letters
IS - 2
ER -