Facile Preparation of Tough, Puncture-Resistant Antibacterial Polyrotaxane Hydrogel

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces Vol. 16; no. 28; pp. 37041 - 37051
• Main Authors: Zheng, Lingji, Jiang, Kaixuan, Tian, Dandan, Wu, Wenhui, Xie, Meiran, He, Hu, Sun, Ruyi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 17.07.2024
• Subjects: Applications of Polymer, Composite, and Coating Materials; functional hydrogels; dynamic covalent bonds; cyclodextrin-based hydrogels; biomedical filling materials; pseudopolyrotaxane
• ISSN: 1944-8244; 1944-8252; 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c07045

Slide-ring hydrogels containing polyrotaxane structures have been widely developed, but current methods are more complex, in which modified cyclodextrins, capped polyrotaxanes, and multistep reactions are often needed. Here, a simple one-pot method dissolving the pseudopolyrotaxane (pPRX) in a mixture of acrylamide and boric acid to form a slide-ring hydrogel by UV light is used to construct a tough, puncture-resistant antibacterial polyrotaxane hydrogel. As a new dynamic ring cross-linking agent, boric acid effectively improves the mechanical properties of the hydrogel and involves the hydrogel with fracture toughness. The polyrotaxane hydrogel can withstand 1 MPa compression stress and maintain the morphology integrity, showing 197.5 mJ puncture energy under a sharp steel needle puncture. Meanwhile, its significant antibacterial properties endow the hydrogel with potential applications in the biomedical field.