Biomimetic Sensors of the Mechanoelectrical Transduction Based on the Polyelectrolyte Gels

Abstract

The mechanoelectrical transduction is studied on the synthetic polyelectrolyte gel sensors prepared by the radical polymerization and the cross-linking of calcium methacrylate in aqueous solution. The electrochemical potential of the gel sensors was measured in the course of their stretching deformation in the stepwise and oscillatory regimes. As the network of the gel was negatively charged the potential was negative with the mean value –90 mV. Under the stretching load the negative potential of the sensor diminished proportionally to the deformation both in the stepwise and the oscillatory regimes. Upon the oscillatory triangular linear axial deformation the potential of the sensor closely followed the load/unload dynamics deformation with the small time shift. The sensitivity of the mechanoelectrical transduction was 1 – 2 mV per 1% of deformation depended on the network density and the regime of stretching.