Abstract
The paper presents the viscoelastic properties of new hybrid hydrogels containing poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC), bovine serum albumin (BSA) and reduced glutathione (GSH). After heating the mixture at 55 °C, in the presence of GSH, a weak network is formed due to partial BSA unfolding. By applying three successive freezing/thawing cycles, a stable porous network structure with elastic properties is designed, as evidenced by SEM and rheology. The hydrogels exhibit self-healing properties when the samples are cut into two pieces; the intermolecular interactions are reestablished in time and therefore the fragments repair themselves. The effects of the BSA content, loaded deformation and temperature on the self-healing ability of hydrogels are presented and discussed through rheological data. Due to their versatile viscoelastic behavior, the properties of PVA/HPC/BSA hydrogels can be tuned during their preparation in order to achieve suitable biomaterials for targeted applications.
Highlights
The structure of all chemicals used for hydrogel preparation is given in poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), HPC and bovine serum albumin (BSA) solutions of 5 g/dL were prepared in Millipore water
The paper presents the viscoelastic properties of self-healing hybrid hydrogels prepared by physical interactions between poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC), bovine serum albumin (BSA) and reduced glutathione (GSH)
The viscoelastic behavior was investigated in order to evidence the self-healing ability as a function of hydrogel composition, applied strain or temperature
Summary
Citation: Bercea, M. Self-HealingBehavior of Polymer/Protein HybridHydrogels. Polymers 2022, 14, 130.https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14010130Academic Editor: Andrea SorrentinoReceived: 6 December 2021Accepted: 27 December 2021Published: 30 December 2021Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.Copyright: Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
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