Conductive supramolecular acrylate hydrogels enabled by quaternized chitosan ionic crosslinking for high-fidelity 3D printing
While 3D printing has enabled the fabrication of hydrogels with complex structures, high fidelity techniques (vat polymerization) that enable precisely engineered design of hydrogels require stiff structures to withstand the forces of printing. This is a pressing research gap in hydrogel vat-polymer...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-03-01
|
| Series: | Carbohydrate Polymer Technologies and Applications |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666893925000416 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1823861156558667776 |
|---|---|
| author | Lukas A. Bauman Boxin Zhao |
| author_facet | Lukas A. Bauman Boxin Zhao |
| author_sort | Lukas A. Bauman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While 3D printing has enabled the fabrication of hydrogels with complex structures, high fidelity techniques (vat polymerization) that enable precisely engineered design of hydrogels require stiff structures to withstand the forces of printing. This is a pressing research gap in hydrogel vat-polymerization 3D printing. To address this limitation, a novel ionic crosslinker consisting of quaternized chitosan complexed with 3-sulfopropyl acrylate was used to form supramolecular 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate organogel precursors. The Cyrene organogel enhanced mechanical properties enabling the printing of high-fidelity structures; the final compliant hydrogels were then obtained through solvent exchange with water. This yielded high-fidelity 3D-printed conductive supramolecular hydrogels with tensile properties of 288±29 kPa at 516±37 % elongation and compressive properties of 572±34 kPa at 65±4 % strain with uniform swelling (320–350 %). Nuclear magnetic resonance and conductivity measurements confirmed SPA-rich blocks within the hydrogel network and the solvent-dependent copolymer structure. Furthermore, through varying the anionic acrylate concentration, ultimate strain between 222 % and 516 % was achieved at a constant elastic modulus. Additionally, electrical properties were tunable with conductivity reaching 156 mS/m at 7 MH in ultrapure water. This work advances applications of quaternized chitosan as an ionic crosslinker in printable conductive hydrogels, opening new applications in medical and technological fields. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0e7d820be45f4a6998f8f0b49952e0b3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2666-8939 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Carbohydrate Polymer Technologies and Applications |
| spelling | doaj-art-0e7d820be45f4a6998f8f0b49952e0b32025-02-10T04:35:02ZengElsevierCarbohydrate Polymer Technologies and Applications2666-89392025-03-019100702Conductive supramolecular acrylate hydrogels enabled by quaternized chitosan ionic crosslinking for high-fidelity 3D printingLukas A. Bauman0Boxin Zhao1Surface Science and Bio-nanomaterials Laboratory, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, Institute for Polymer Research, Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2 L 3G1, CanadaCorresponding author.; Surface Science and Bio-nanomaterials Laboratory, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, Institute for Polymer Research, Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2 L 3G1, CanadaWhile 3D printing has enabled the fabrication of hydrogels with complex structures, high fidelity techniques (vat polymerization) that enable precisely engineered design of hydrogels require stiff structures to withstand the forces of printing. This is a pressing research gap in hydrogel vat-polymerization 3D printing. To address this limitation, a novel ionic crosslinker consisting of quaternized chitosan complexed with 3-sulfopropyl acrylate was used to form supramolecular 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate organogel precursors. The Cyrene organogel enhanced mechanical properties enabling the printing of high-fidelity structures; the final compliant hydrogels were then obtained through solvent exchange with water. This yielded high-fidelity 3D-printed conductive supramolecular hydrogels with tensile properties of 288±29 kPa at 516±37 % elongation and compressive properties of 572±34 kPa at 65±4 % strain with uniform swelling (320–350 %). Nuclear magnetic resonance and conductivity measurements confirmed SPA-rich blocks within the hydrogel network and the solvent-dependent copolymer structure. Furthermore, through varying the anionic acrylate concentration, ultimate strain between 222 % and 516 % was achieved at a constant elastic modulus. Additionally, electrical properties were tunable with conductivity reaching 156 mS/m at 7 MH in ultrapure water. This work advances applications of quaternized chitosan as an ionic crosslinker in printable conductive hydrogels, opening new applications in medical and technological fields.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S26668939250004163D printingPhoto-polymerizationQuaternized chitosanChitosanConductive polymersSupramolecular hydrogel |
| spellingShingle | Lukas A. Bauman Boxin Zhao Conductive supramolecular acrylate hydrogels enabled by quaternized chitosan ionic crosslinking for high-fidelity 3D printing Carbohydrate Polymer Technologies and Applications 3D printing Photo-polymerization Quaternized chitosan Chitosan Conductive polymers Supramolecular hydrogel |
| title | Conductive supramolecular acrylate hydrogels enabled by quaternized chitosan ionic crosslinking for high-fidelity 3D printing |
| title_full | Conductive supramolecular acrylate hydrogels enabled by quaternized chitosan ionic crosslinking for high-fidelity 3D printing |
| title_fullStr | Conductive supramolecular acrylate hydrogels enabled by quaternized chitosan ionic crosslinking for high-fidelity 3D printing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Conductive supramolecular acrylate hydrogels enabled by quaternized chitosan ionic crosslinking for high-fidelity 3D printing |
| title_short | Conductive supramolecular acrylate hydrogels enabled by quaternized chitosan ionic crosslinking for high-fidelity 3D printing |
| title_sort | conductive supramolecular acrylate hydrogels enabled by quaternized chitosan ionic crosslinking for high fidelity 3d printing |
| topic | 3D printing Photo-polymerization Quaternized chitosan Chitosan Conductive polymers Supramolecular hydrogel |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666893925000416 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lukasabauman conductivesupramolecularacrylatehydrogelsenabledbyquaternizedchitosanioniccrosslinkingforhighfidelity3dprinting AT boxinzhao conductivesupramolecularacrylatehydrogelsenabledbyquaternizedchitosanioniccrosslinkingforhighfidelity3dprinting |