Composite hydrophilic materials suggested by a simple model of cartilage. I.

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AbstractSedimentation of collagen or cellulose fibers freshly precipitated from aqueous solutions containing certain soluble, flexible polyelectrolytes compacts them to pellets which may incorporate considerable amounts of the polyelectrolyte. The amount of polyelectrolyte incorporated increases with its chain weight and with its concentration in the solution from which the fibers were precipitated. The amount of water held by the pellets after compaction under a standard set of conditions generally increases with the amount of polyelectrolyte which has been incorporated into the pellet. Pellets formed by the compaction of cellulose fibers in the presence of polyelectrolyte are coherent although those formed in the absence of polyelectrolyte are not; all collagen pellets are coherent. All coherent pellets can be dried and, subsequently, reconstituted by being soaked in.15 M KCl. Reconstituted collagen pellets hold over two times as much water as the initial wet pellet formed by compaction; reconstituted cellulose pellets hold on the average about ⅓ the amount of water as the initially compacted pellets. The reconstituted pellets can again be dried and reconstituted with generally little further loss of polyelectrolyte or change in capacity to take up water.