Connecting molecular behavior to macroscopic properties of polysaccharides-based hydrogels

Abstract

The polysaccharide, chitosan, is a biocompatible material commonly used in biomedical applications. Chitosan’s chemistry enables its switching from a stable, net-neutral, elastic hydrogel at basic pH, to a soluble polycationic state at acidic conditions. Experimental work has shown that the addition of the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) to polycationic chitosan gives rise to electrostatically linked hydrogels displaying viscoelasticity. In this talk, I will discuss a multiscale model to identify the molecular phenomena that underpin these distinct mechanical behaviors of chitosan.