Fabrication And Material Properties Of The Acrylamide/sodium Alginate Double Network Hydrogel

Background Hydrogel as a biocompatible polymer material can be used to make wound dressings,artificial cartilage and so on,which has been widely used in the field of biomedicine.However,the application of hydrogels is often limited by its mechanical properties.Some hydrogels have poor mechanical properties and are easily damaged.In addition,some hydrogels may have a large reduction in their mechanical properties after multiple loads.In recent years,Jeong-Yun Sun and some other scientists invented the acrylamide / sodium alginate double network hydrogel through a lot of research which performs good mechanical properties.The tensile properties and elastic modulus of this hydrogel are more excellent than traditional hydrogels.Even in the case of scratches,they can still be stretched to more than ten times their own length.This double-network hydrogel just make up for the poor mechanical properties of the previous hydrogel.Therefore,this double network hydrogel is expected to be widely used in various fields such as biomedicine,environmental protection.However,before the new materials are put into clinical use,they need to be tested for stability of their mechanical properties and changes in the swelling rate under different p H conditions.Objective To investigate the mechanical properties of acrylamide / sodium alginate double network hydrogel and the stability of its mechanical properties.Methods The acrylamide/sodium alginate double-network hydrogel was prepared by light curing slow-gelling reaction.The acrylamide single network hydrogel and sodium alginate single network hydrogel were prepared by traditional method.Subsequently,the mechanical properties of acrylamide/sodium alginate double-network hydrogel and acrylamide single network hydrogel were tested by universal material testing machine.After that,stability of the mechanical properties of acrylamide/sodium alginate double-network hydrogel was tested.Finally,the swelling ratio of acrylamide/sodium alginate double-network hydrogel and sodium alginate single network hydrogel were tested in different p H solutions.Results The experimental results show that the maximum strain and elastic modulus of acrylamide/sodium alginate double-network hydrogel was significantly different from acrylamide single network hydrogel.After 30 minutes of repeated stretching,the mechanical properties of acrylamide/sodium alginate double-network hydrogel remained stable,and the swelling ratio of acrylamide/sodium alginate double-network hydrogel was different in the solution which p H value was changed.Conclusion Acrylamide / sodium alginate double network hydrogel has stable mechanical properties,different swelling rates in different p H solutions,and more stable swelling rate than sodium alginate hydrogel and fast reaching the swelling balance.It is foreseeable that with the continuous deepening of scholars' research on such hydrogels,the hydrogels are not only more widely used in the field of biomedicine,but also bring more convenience to human beings in other fields.