Enhancement of the Adhesive Properties by Optimizing the Water Content in PNIPAM-Functionalized Complex Coacervates
Résumé
Most commercially available soft tissue glues offer poor performance in the human body. Inspired by sea water organisms, we have developed an injectable adhesive whose setting mechanism is activated by a variation in environmental factors (e.g temperature and/or ionic strength). The material is prepared by mimicking a mechanism observed in many natural glues: complex coacervation, a liquid-liquid phase separation between oppositely charged polyelectrolytes. Complex coacervates are characterized by a high-water content, which inevitably weakens the glue. Here, we target the increase of the adhesive properties by systematically tuning the water content, a key parameter affecting the material performance. Among the several strategies here explored, the most effective one is the mechanical removal of water using an extruder, resulting in a work of adhesion increase of one order of magnitude compared to the original formulation.
Domaines
Matière Molle [cond-mat.soft]Origine | Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s) |
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