Mechanically robust and stretchable silk/hyaluronic acid hydrogels

Tavşanlı B., Okay O.

CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS, cilt.208, ss.413-420, 2019 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 208
  • Basım Tarihi: 2019
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.12.088
  • Dergi Adı: CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.413-420
  • İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Combining the material and biological properties of hyaluronic acid (HA) and silk fibroin (SF) in a single hydrogel would expand the range of applications available to HA and SF individually. Here, we present a novel strategy to prepare mechanically robust and stretchable SF/HA hydrogels. The hydrogels were prepared from methacrylated HA (MeHA) and SF in aqueous solutions in the presence of a radical initiator. N, N-dimethyla-crylamide (DMAA) monomer was also included into the reaction solution as a spacer to connect MeHA's through their pendant vinyl groups. The presence of SF significantly enhances the mechanical strength of HA hydrogels due to its beta-sheet domains acting as physical cross-links. The damage in SF network under large strain leads to a significant energy dissipation, which is responsible for the improved mechanical properties of SF/HA hydrogels.