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Title: Photoinitiator-grafted polymer chains for integrating hydrogels with various materials
Hydrogels are commonly integrated with other materials. In the one-pot synthesis of a hydrogel coating, polymerization, crosslink, and interlink are concurrent. This concurrency, however, is often inapplicable for integrating hydrogels to other materials. For example, a permeable substrate will absorb small molecules in the solution, causing side reactions and even toxicity. Here, we report a method to break the concurrency by using photoinitiator-grafted polymer chains (PGPCs). A type of photoinitiator is copolymerized with various monomers. The PGPCs are uncrosslinked during syn- thesis, have long shelf lives in dark storage, and can be applied to a substrate by brush, cast, spin, dip, spray, or print. Under ultraviolet light, the polymer chains crosslink into a network and interlink with the substrate. The cured PGPC hydrogels are characterized by me- chanical tests. Furthermore, the PGPCs are demonstrated to adhere wet materials, form hydrophilic coatings on hydrophobic substrates, and pattern functional groups on permeable substrates.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2011754
PAR ID:
10501575
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Cell Press
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Cell Reports Physical Science
Volume:
2
Issue:
6
ISSN:
2666-3864
Page Range / eLocation ID:
100463
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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