Homogeneous Network Structure Research Articles

A highly homogeneous polymer composed of tetrahedron-like monomers for high-isotropy expansion microscopy.

Expansion microscopy (ExM) physically magnifies biological specimens to enable nanoscale-resolution imaging on conventional microscopes. Current ExM methods permeate specimens with free-radical-chain-growth-polymerized polyacrylate hydrogels, whose network structure limits the local isotropy of expansion, and the preservation of morphology and shape at the nanoscale. Here we report that ExM is possible using hydrogels with more homogeneous network structure, assembled via non-radical terminal linking of tetrahedral monomers. As with earlier forms of ExM, such “tetra-gel”-embedded specimens can be iteratively expanded for greater physical magnification. Iterative tetra-gel expansion of HSV-1 virions by ~10x in linear dimension results in a median spatial error of 9.2 nm for localizing the viral envelope layer, rather than 14.3 nm from earlier versions of ExM. Moreover, tetra-gel-based expansion better preserved virion spherical shape. Thus, tetra-gels may support ExM with reduced spatial errors and improved local isotropy, pointing the way towards single biomolecule precision ExM.

Effects of hydrocolloids and proteins on dough rheology and in vitro starch digestibility of sweet potato-wheat bread

The improvement of different hydrocolloids (hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC), carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), xanthan gum (XG) and apple pectin (AP)) and proteins (egg white protein (EWP), soy protein isolate (SPI), total egg protein (TEP) and whey protein concentrate (WPC)) on the quality of sweet potato-wheat bread (SPWB) from 50% sweet potato flour (SPF) and 50% wheat flour (WF) were investigated. The changes of thermomechanical behaviour, rheological properties, water mobility of dough and in vitro starch digestibility of SPWB were evaluated. XG incorporation significantly increased the peak viscosity (from 259.50 to 1300.67 RVU) and water absorption (from 56.89% to 63.45%) of sweet potato-wheat flour. Dough incorporated with XG showed a homogeneous network structure with immense protein cross-linkages. SPWB with XG exhibited higher specific volume (2.09 ml/g), lower hardness (27.95 N), and expected glycemic index (35.87) as compared to other formulas. XG supplementation could be applied to produce novel SPWB with high quality.

Improvement of pea protein gelation at reduced temperature by atmospheric cold plasma and the gelling mechanism study

Pea protein as an alternative of soy protein has attracted growing interest in food industries. However, high temperature (> 95 °C) is required to enable heat-induced gelation and the formed gels are relatively weak. This research aimed to study the efficacy of atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) as a novel non-thermal technique to improve the gelling properties of pea protein. While native pea protein concentrate (PPC) (12 wt%) could not form gel under 90 °C, ACP-treated PPC showed good gelling properties when heated at 70–90 °C. The gels exhibited homogeneous three-dimensional network structure with interconnected macropores, and those prepared at 80 and 90 °C possessed good mechanical strength and viscoelasticity, as well as high water holding capacity. The gelling mechanism was studied by monitoring pea protein structural changes during ACP treatment and gel formation process via a transmission electron microscope, a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, and a rheometer. These results revealed that ACP treatment contributed to the formation of protein fibrillar aggregates, and significantly reduced the PPC denaturation temperature, leading to protein unfolding at reduced temperature of 80–90 °C. ACP treatment also increased the protein surface hydrophobicity and exposed free sulfhydryl groups, which could facilitate the formation of hydrophobic interactions and disulfide bonds, leading to gels with improved mechanical properties. Moreover, hydrogen bonding could play an important role to stabilize the gel network during the gelling process. Owing to the short exposure time and energy efficiency, ACP is a promising technology to enable wide applications to pea protein as a gelling ingredient of plant protein-based food products, such as meat analogues and egg alternatives.

Enhanced interfacial wettability and mechanical properties of Ni@Al2O3/Cu ceramic matrix composites using spark plasma sintering of Ni coated Al2O3 powders

Poor wettability and weak interfacial bonding between Cu and Al2O3 have been critical issues for sintering of high-quality Ni@Al2O3/Cu composites. In this paper, we explore an interfacial engineering design methodology to achieve good mechanical properties of Ni@Al2O3/Cu composites using spark plasma sintering method. The Ni coated powders were prepared using a heterogeneous precipitation method, which can significantly improve wettability between Cu and Al2O3 and enhance their interfacial bonding. The sintered Ni@Al2O3/Cu composites with a copper content of 15 vol% showed a compact network structure of alumina well-infiltrated with metallic Cu, and achieved good mechanical (e.g., fracture toughness of 6.72 MPam1/2) and physical properties (e.g., relative density of 99.3% and electrical resistivity of 1.2810−3 Ω m). The key mechanisms for the enhanced properties of the composites synthesized using the Ni coated composite powders have been identified as: (1) well-formed ceramic/metal interfacial structures which improve wettability of Al2O3 with Cu, and promote the formation of a homogeneous network structure; (2) enhanced elemental diffusion and interfacial reactions, which result in formation of Cu2O and CuAlO2 and thus improve interfacial wetting and bonding properties.

Study on Microstructures of Complex Plant Polysaccharides Aerogels and Their Effects on Porosity

The microstructure of polysaccharide aerogels is a key factor affecting porosity, and directly determines the efficiency of its application as filter rod material. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the effects of different amounts of starch on the microstructure of the complex plant polysaccharide aerogels. The experimental results showed that the aerogel samples showed a complete and homogeneous three-dimensional network structure. With the increase of starch content, the pore size became smaller and the pore structure on the hole wall became smaller. After adding starch, the concentration of the system increased, that is, the solute in the unit volume increased, the moisture content decreased, and the air replaced the water in the gel after freeze drying, resulting in the increase of the density of the aerogel and the decrease of porosity. All aerogels showed a trend of increasing filtration efficiency with increasing particle size. The filtration performance of aerogels with different starch content was tested by using the comprehensive performance test bed of filter media. The test results showed that the capture of filter material was mainly through inertial collision. When the particle size was bigger, the greater the inertia, the greater the possibility of particle contamination being captured, so the higher the filtration efficiency.

Hierarchical Modeling of Structural Coefficients for Heterogeneous Networks with an Application to Animal Production Systems

Understanding the interconnections between performance outcomes in a system is increasingly important for integrated management. Structural equation models (SEMs) are a type of multiple-variable modeling strategy that allows investigation of directionality in the association between outcome variables, thereby providing insight into their interconnections as putative causal links defining a functional network. A key assumption underlying SEMs is that of a homogeneous network structure, whereby the structural coefficients defining functional links are assumed homogeneous and impervious to environmental conditions or management factors. This assumption seems questionable as systems are regularly subjected to explicit interventions to optimize the necessary trade-offs between outcomes. Using a Bayesian approach, we propose methodological extensions to hierarchical SEMs that accommodate structural heterogeneity by explicitly specifying structural coefficients as functions of systematic and non-systematic sources of variation. We validate the inferential properties of our proposed approach using a simulation study and show that networks can be consistently identified as homogeneous or heterogeneous. We apply the proposed methodological extensions to a dataset from a designed experiment in swine production consisting of six interrelated reproductive performance outcomes to explore physiological links that differed by parity, while accounting for data architecture due to experimental design. Overall, our results indicate that explicit hierarchical SEM-based modeling of heterogeneous functional networks can be used to advance understanding of complex systems in animal production agriculture. Supplementary materials accompanying this paper appear online.

Polypyrrole-carbon nanotube-cellophane composite plate with homogeneous network structure for flexible symmetric supercapacitor device

A conceptually simple route has been designed for the preparation of flexible plate by utilization of biodegradable cellophane film through addition of NaHCO3 powder into structure of Polypyrrole-Multiwalled carbon nanotube-Cellophane (PMC) composite and then by chemical treatment in acidic solution. A homogeneous conductive-porous structure was formed as a result of release of NaHCO3 from the composite bulk in acidic solution as well as CO2 (g) evolution. The porous PMC plate exhibited a specific capacitance of 244 mF cm−2 at a current density of 0.5 mA cm−2 and favorite rate capability. The assembled symmetric supercapacitor device showed a high areal capacitance of 309 mF cm−2 at 2.5 mA cm−2, excellent flexibility and a long cycle lifetime (89% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles). The strategy presented in this work opens a new door for environmentally friendly preparation of flexible-biodegradable supercapacitor devices with high mechanical strength.

Visualization and improvement of the physical gelation process during gas phase coagulation through acid–base indicator staining, monitoring and optimization

Gas phase coagulation is a highly efficient method for fabricating physically crosslinked nanochitin-based hydrogels. In this study, a visible and tailorable strategy was developed using phenolphthalein and litmus indicator. The indicator was applied to stain partially deacetylated nanochitin (DEChNs), ensuring that the gelation process occurring during gas phase coagulation was able to be clearly visualized. A semi-gelatinized interface cross-sectional view was obtained, leading to the possibility to monitor and optimize the crosslinking process. Thereafter, a series of optimizations was performed to improve the nanochitin gelation process. Only 16.5 h was required for sufficient physical crosslinking when the molar ratio of ammonia to acetic acid was 3.45. In mixtures containing this proportion, the ammonia solution was completely reduced and the formation process was able to be controlled and improved. A higher concentration of nanochitin led to a slower cross-linking process, but increased the mechanical strength and produced a more uniform structure, which might be due to the formation of a more uniform network at an appropriate gelation rate. The optimization of the physical cross-linking process will improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the gas phase coagulation technique and the control of the properties of nanochitin hydrogels and their composites by altering the cross-linking conditions. The nanochitin gelation process was clearly visualized and optimized with substantially reduces the amount of ammonia solution and the precisely predicts and controls time, while it maintains a homogeneous and stable network structure, a higher specific surface and the same strong mechanical properties of the hydrogel.

Relationship between Bulk Physicochemical Properties and Surface Wettability of Hydrogels with Homogeneous Network Structure.

Controlling hydrogel surface wettability is of great importance in the viewpoint of engineering biomaterials that are in contact with cells and tissues. However, studies reporting how the hydrogel bulk properties would affect the surface is scarce, and thus it has been difficult to fabricate hydrogels with the desired properties. Also, there has been no effective method to elucidate this, due to the inhomogeneity introduced in the network structure of conventional hydrogels. Here we report our approach in elucidating the relationship between hydrogel physicochemical parameters and surface wettability by using Tetra-PEG gels, which are known to have homogeneous network structure. Specifically, the polymer volume fraction (φ) and the molecular weight (MW) between the cross-links were controlled. The number of anions, cations, and ionic pairs introduced within the hydrogel, were also individually controlled. The surface wettability of the resulting hydrogels was then evaluated. Results showed that surface wettability is largely dependent on the concentration of charged groups that are introduced in the hydrogel bulk, especially those that are not paired and ionically stabilized. Our findings strongly support the fact that with conventional hydrogels, the correlation between surface wettability and its physicochemical properties had not been evaluated appropriately, and thus our insights will contribute significantly to accumulating further knowledge on controlling hydrogel surface wettability.

A p-tert-Tutyldihomooxacalix[4]arene Based Soft Gel for Sustained Drug Release in Water.

P-tert-butyldihomooxacalix[4]arene is a well-known calix[4]arene analog in which one CH2 bridge is replaced by one -CH2OCH2- group. Thus, dihomooxacalix[4]arene has a slightly larger cavity than that of calix[4]arene and usually possesses a more flexible cone conformation, and the bridged oxygen atom might provide additional binding sites. Here, we synthesized a new functional p-tert-butyldihomooxacalix[4]arene 1 through Ugi reaction with good yield (70%), starting from condensed p-tert-butyldihomooxacalix[4]arene O-alkoxy–substituted benzaldehydes, benzoic acid, benzylamine, and cyclohexyl isocyanide. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR), 13C NMR, IR, and diffusion-ordered 1H NMR spectroscopy (DOSY) methods were used to characterize the structure of 1. Then soft gel was prepared by adding 1 into cyclohexane directly. It shows remarkable thermoreversibility and can be demonstrated for several cycles. As is revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images, xerogel showed highly interconnected and homogeneous porous network structures, and hence, the gel is suitable for storage and controlled release.

3 D NiO Nanowall Hole-Transporting Layer for the Passivation of Interfacial Contact in Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells.

Nickel oxide (NiO) materials with excellent stability and favorable energy bands are desirable candidates for hole-selective contact (HSC) of inverted perovskite solar cell (PSC). However, studies that focus on addressing interfacial issues, which are induced by the poor NiO/perovskite contact or other defects, are scarce. In this study, a facile one-step hydrothermal strategy is demonstrated for the development of a 3 D NiO nanowall (NW) film as a promising HSC. The new NiO NWs HSC exhibits a robust and homogenous mesoporous network structure, which improved the NiO/perovskite interface contact, passivated the interfacial defect and improved the quality of the perovskite film. The optimized interface features enabled a power conversion efficiency (PCE) approaching 18 %. A diethanolamine (DEA) interlayer was introduced to further passivate the intrinsic defect of the NiO surface, resulting in better charge transfer with suppressed recombination loss. As a result, the champion PCE of the NiO NWs/DEA-based device was increased to 19.16 % with a high open-circuit voltage (≈1.11 V) and fill factor (>80 %), which is prominent in methylammonium lead iodide-based inverted PSCs. Furthermore, the device exhibited better stability and lower hysteresis behavior than a conventional solution-based NiO nanocrystal device.

Structural hole detection based on weighted meta path in heterogeneous networks

With the rapid development of online social networks, the detection of structural holes, i.e. identifying the key nodes that can bridge with individuals or groups without direct relationship in social networks, has attracted more attention of a large number of researches. The existing researches mainly focus on the influence of a homogeneous network structure, ignoring the importance of node types and different edges in online social networks. In this paper, an algorithm based on weighted meta paths for detecting structural hole in heterogeneous networks (SH_WMP) is proposed. SH_WMP not only flexibly integrates rich semantic information of heterogeneous networks, but also utilizes edge weight and potential link information to improve the performance. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms the comparison methods.

Identifying disease-associated biomarker network features through conditional graphical model.

Biomarkers are often organized into networks, in which the strengths of network connections vary across subjects depending on subject-specific covariates (eg, genetic variants). Variation of network connections, as subject-specific feature variables, has been found to predict disease clinical outcome. In this work, we develop a two-stage method to estimate biomarker networks that account for heterogeneity among subjects and evaluate network's association with disease clinical outcome. In the first stage, we propose a conditional Gaussian graphical model with mean and precision matrix depending on covariates to obtain covariate-dependent networks with connection strengths varying across subjects while assuming homogeneous network structure. In the second stage, we evaluate clinical utility of network measures (connection strengths) estimated from the first stage. The second-stage analysis provides the relative predictive power of between-region network measures on clinical impairment in the context of regional biomarkers and existing disease risk factors. We assess the performance of proposed method by extensive simulation studies and application to a Huntington's disease (HD) study to investigate the effect of HD causal gene on the rate of change in motor symptom through affecting brain subcortical and cortical gray matter atrophy connections. We show that cortical network connections and subcortical volumes, but not subcortical connections are identified to be predictive of clinical motor function deterioration. We validate these findings in an independent HD study. Lastly, highly similar patterns seen in the gray matter connections and a previous white matter connectivity study suggest a shared biological mechanism for HD and support the hypothesis that white matter loss is a direct result of neuronal loss as opposed to the loss of myelin ordysmyelination.

Precise Synthesis of a Homogeneous Thermoresponsive Polymer Network Composed of Four-Branched Star Polymers with a Narrow Molecular Weight Distribution

In this study, the synthesis of a star-shaped polymer with a narrow molecular weight distribution and subsequent formation of a homogeneous polymer network composed of the star-shaped polymer were realized by combining single-electron transfer living radical polymerization, click reaction, and amide bond formation with a condensing agent, which are toolized reactions. First, a 4-armed star polymer consisting of N-isopropylacrylamide was synthesized by living radical polymerization using N,N′-ethylenebis (2,2-dichloroacetamide) as a 4-branched initiator. By this polymerization method, a terminal Cl 4-branched star poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPA) with a narrow molecular weight distribution could be obtained, but it was found that the reaction activity of the polymer terminal was lost in the process of purification and isolation. Therefore, after obtaining the terminal Cl 4-branched star PNIPA by living radical polymerization, an azide reaction was carried out in one pot without purification and isolation of the star-shaped polymer. As a result, the azide group was successfully introduced to all ends of the star-shaped polymer. By introducing a carboxyl group or an amino group into the 4-branched star polymer with azide groups using a click reaction, two types of 4-branched star polymers with different end groups were obtained. Equal amounts of both 4-branched star polymers were mixed at a polymer concentration equal to or higher than the overlapping concentration, and as a result of forming an amide bond with a condensing agent, a polymer gel was obtained. The swelling behaviors of the polymer gel indicate that almost no unreacted carboxyl group or amino group was present in the obtained polymer gel. That is, it was found that both 4-branched star polymers reacted efficiently to form a polymer network. In addition, structural observation of the polymer network by the small-angle X-ray scattering method showed that a polymer gel consisting of a network of uniform size was obtained. As mentioned above, we succeeded in constructing a polymer gel consisting of a homogeneous network structure using a temperature-responsive 4-branched star polymer as the building block. The living radical polymerization method, the click reaction, and the amide formation by condensation reaction used in this study can be applied not only to the NIPA used here but also to various other monomers. If the construction of a precise network structure is realized by many polymers and the relation with the functional expression derived from the structure is clarified, it will be possible to design the network structure in accordance with the usage of the polymer gel.

A muscle-like magnetorheological actuator based on bidisperse magnetic particles enhanced flexible alginate-gelatin sponges

A novel muscle-like magnetorheological actuator (MMRA) was composed of magnetic field generator and magnetostrictive component. Herein, the magnetostrictive component with high flexibility and elasticity was constructed by embedding micron carbonyl iron particles and Fe3O4 nanoparticles wrapped with MWCNTs into the alginate-gelatin (AL-GE) sponge matrix through a freeze-drying method for the first time. The structural characterization, rheological properties and actuation performance of MMRA with various magnetic AL-GE sponges were investigated. And they were significantly influenced by the mass ratio of AL-GE and the mass fraction of bidisperse magnetic particles (BMPs). The results showed that the relative MR effect and loss factor under 1 T of sample AL1-GE4-30 are 324.11% and 0.18, and its maximum deformation is 3.46 mm at 200 mT of magnetic flux density, exhibiting superior flexibility and enhanced magneto-induced performance compared with other magnetic AL-GE sponge matrix. In addition, a possible mechanism was proposed to explain the magneto-controllable performance for the MMRA. It was found that the actuation behaviors were attributed to the uniform distribution of BMPs in the homogenous network structure of sponge matrix.

Robust and recyclable macroscopic g-C3N4/cellulose hybrid photocatalysts with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity

Robust, metal-free, macroscopic 3D porous g-C3N4/cellulose (CN/CE) hybrid photocatalyst was successfully fabricated by the co-assembly of g-C3N4 and cellulose substrate. The morphology, structure, mechanical property, optical and electrochemical performances, and photocatalytic activity of the CN/CE were investigated in detail. The obtained CN/CE hybrid photocatalyst possessed homogeneous 3D interconnected network structure, excellent mechanical strength and considerable recyclability. Also, the CN/CE hybrid photocatalyst exhibited both an excellent adsorption capacity and improved photocatalytic activity toward methylene blue (MB) degradation with degradation rate of 99.8%, much higher than that of pure g-C3N4 (54.2%). The enhanced photocatalytic performance of CN/CE derived from the synergistic effects of homogeneous 3D interconnected network structure and syncretic interfaces between g-C3N4 and cellulose, facilitating mass transport, light absorption and reactant adsorption, as well as the transfer of the photogenerated electrons. Moreover, the CN/CE hybrid photocatalyst indicated a high reusability and stability without significant reduction in its efficiency with nearly 96% of MB degradation after four cycles. This work not only demonstrated the importance of homogeneous interconnected network structure to prepare highly effective photocatalyst, but also provided a new insight into the approach for design and utilization of stable and recyclable metal-free photocatalyst for visible light derived contaminant degradation.

Improvement of calcium sulfate-induced gelation of soy protein via incorporation of soy oil before and after thermal denaturation

Soy protein-based foods have attracted extensive attention for their potential health benefits. In this study, soy protein isolate (SPI) emulsions containing 10–70 mL/L of soy oil were primarily prepared either by adding the oil, emulsifying and heat treatment (OEH), or by heat treatment of the soy protein dispersion, addition of oil and emulsification (HOE). After adding CaSO4, the rheological properties of emulsions during gelation and the textural properties of the resulting gels were investigated and compared. The results showed that the increase in the volume fraction (Φ) of the soy oil from 10 to 70 mL/L resulted in the increase of the final elastic modulus (G′) of HOE and OEH emulsion gels from 5216.7 to 5827.3 Pa, and 4184.3–4935.3 Pa, respectively. The gel hardness and water-holding capacity gradually improved with increasing Φ. HOE gels exhibited greater performance of gelling properties than OEH gels at the same Φ. Confocal laser scanning microscopy images demonstrated that HOE gels, with smaller soy oil droplets dispersed within the networks, had more homogeneous and compact network structures than OEH gels. Reinforced emulsifying capacity of denatured SPI could enhance the protein-oil interactions and result in improvement of CaSO4-gelation of SPI.

Three-dimensional MoS2/rGO nanocomposites with homogeneous network structure for supercapacitor electrodes

Molybdenum disulfide/graphene (MoS2/rGO) nanocomposites are a promising candidate for energy storage materials. However, it is still a challenge to uniformly disperse MoS2 on rGO nanosheets, which the performance mainly depends on. In this work, we demonstrate a novel method to synthesize the three-dimensional (3D) MoS2/rGO nanocomposites by the high-gravity reactive precipitation in a rotating packed bed (RPB) reactor combined with the hydrothermal method. The prepared nanocomposites have higher purity and larger specific surface area than that prepared in the traditional stirred tank reactor (STR). More importantly, MoS2 is uniformly and densely dispersed on rGO nanosheets, resulting in the formation of an even 3D network structure and contributing to the achievement of excellent energy storage performance. The specific capacitance of the nanocomposites reaches 294 F g−1 at a scan rate of 20 mV s−1, which is obviously higher than that of pure MoS2 (122 F g−1) and rGO (23 F g−1). The calculated energy density and power density are 57 Wh kg−1 and 50 W kg−1, respectively. Moreover, the preparation process is environmentally friendly, controllable and suitable for a large-scale production, which is significantly important for the development of the electrode materials applied in the supercapacitors.

Spontaneous electromagnetic induction promotes the formation of economical neuronal network structure via self-organization process

Developed through evolution, brain neural system self-organizes into an economical and dynamic network structure with the modulation of repetitive neuronal firing activities through synaptic plasticity. These highly variable electric activities inevitably produce a spontaneous magnetic field, which also significantly modulates the dynamic neuronal behaviors in the brain. However, how this spontaneous electromagnetic induction affects the self-organization process and what is its role in the formation of an economical neuronal network still have not been reported. Here, we investigate the effects of spontaneous electromagnetic induction on the self-organization process and the topological properties of the self-organized neuronal network. We first find that spontaneous electromagnetic induction slows down the self-organization process of the neuronal network by decreasing the neuronal excitability. In addition, spontaneous electromagnetic induction can result in a more homogeneous directed-weighted network structure with lower causal relationship and less modularity which supports weaker neuronal synchronization. Furthermore, we show that spontaneous electromagnetic induction can reconfigure synaptic connections to optimize the economical connectivity pattern of self-organized neuronal networks, endowing it with enhanced local and global efficiency from the perspective of graph theory. Our results reveal the critical role of spontaneous electromagnetic induction in the formation of an economical self-organized neuronal network and are also helpful for understanding the evolution of the brain neural system.

A supramolecular hydrogel with an ideally homogeneous 3D network structure based on a (cucurbit[8]uril) host-(tetrahedron-like) guest interaction

The synthesis process of hydrogels based on using supramolecular chemistry as a core has attained much attention because it does not need complex operation and harsh reaction conditions whilst cucurbituril as the fourth generation of the host units has attracted much interest due to its unique characteristics. In this work, a supramolecular hydrogel was designed and prepared by using cucurbit urea and 4-arm-PEG as precursors. We firstly synthesized cucurbit[8]uril, 4-arm-PEG-BPY2+ and 4-arm-PEG-Pyr by condensation reaction and chemical cross-linking, and then used them to construct an ideally homogeneous three-dimensional network structure of hydrogels and meanwhile studied the mechanism and properties of the stable 1:1:1 ternary complex. And then mechanical and biological tests were conducted. The results showed that the obtained hydrogels not only had high mechanical strength but also good biocompatibility. Additionally, the result also showed that their ideal structures ware very suitable for drug-loading and drug-releasing.