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CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik

CPP 25: Poster Session II

CPP 25.21: Poster

Dienstag, 2. April 2019, 14:00–16:00, Poster B1

Mussel-inspired hydrogels with adhesive potential and mechanical robustness — •Sandra Forg and Regine von Klitzing — Technische Universität Darmstadt, Alarich-Weiss-Straße 10, D-64287 Darmstadt

Polymer hydrogels offer unique properties. Especially their responsiveness to external stimuli including pH and temperature provides a huge potential for various technological applications. Combining this stimuli-responsiveness with adhesive attributes would be of use for tissue engineering or medical purposes. Therefore, hydrogels inspired by marine organisms such as mussels have recently become highly attractive. Mussels can strongly adhere to other substrates even in wet conditions, which is mainly determined by the protein 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-L-alanine (DOPA). This DOPA-group can easily be incorporated into the hydrogel structure. However, most of these hydrogels are mechanically weak and / or possess a low elastic modulus, which remarkably limits their use in in vivo environments.

In this work, temperature-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgels are synthesized. They are modified with DOPA to obtain adhesive properties. Their charge is varied by copolymerisation with the anionic monomer acrylic acid (AA). Moreover, their size and cross-linker content can be tuned. Their properties are studied by DLS and Zetasizer measurements. Afterwards, thin films of these DOPA-modified microgels are produced by spin-coating. They are analysed by static and dynamic indentation measurements to get an insight into the mechanical and rheological properties of thin films.