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How To Control Gels From The Inside

Find out how scientists control the movement of gels from the inside using enzymes.

Author

Ming Jun Lee
July 22, 2023

Dear Readers,

How are you doing this weekend?

I’m currently on the way to a conference to discuss the adhesive properties of hydrogels underwater, so I’ll be away for about a week. Nonetheless, I have written this week’s newsletter in advance and scheduled it for Saturday (US Central).

While waiting for the flight, I read this article about the next supercontinent on Earth - Amasia. Geophysicist Ross Mitchell studied the tectonic plate movements of our planet and projected that America and Asia is due for a collision in the future. I found this project quite amusing. As many of you have known, I traveled from Singapore, a country in Asia, to America for my graduate studies. When we become Amasia in the future, perhaps this would have been simply a long drive over.

I’m kidding of course, because the author’s projection is for another millions of years. Anyone going cybernetic? I’ll see you in t

he network in a million years. (hur hur.. anyone get the pun..? you know, network like hydrogel or polymer network 😆 )

Are any of you also going to conferences or have been to a conference this Summer? Hit ‘reply’ and share your experiences with me!

In The News

This image shows a metallic spider that was printed at room temperature using the metallic gel, and which assembled and solidified into its final 3D shape via 4D printing. Credit: Michael Dickey, NC State University. Discovered via Phys.org

Research Updates

(d) Photographs of the programmed 2D hydrogel strips, which transformed into distinct 3D architectures, including a 4-petal flower shape and S-shape upon stretching.(e) Schematic illustration of the transformation of the bilayer hydrogels containing hinges under mechanical stretching. (f) Photographs of programmed 2D hydrogel structures which transformed into distinct 3D architectures. Adapted from chemrxiv

  • The article discusses how to design a mechano-controlled biocatalytic system at the molecular level inside hydrogels to regulate their mechanical properties at the material scale.

  • This biocatalytic system consists of the protease thrombin and its inhibitor, hirudin, which were genetically engineered and covalently coupled to the hydrogel networks.

  • Thrombin has this catalytic ability that was reversibly switched on by stretching of the hydrogels, disrupting the noncovalent inhibitory interaction between both entities. This enabled self-assembly of new networks under cyclic tensile loading.

  • The programming of bilayer hydrogels to exhibit tailored shape-morphing behavior under mechanical stimulation is demonstrated.

  • This article is a proof of concept for mechanically controlled reversible biocatalytic processes, showcasing their potential for regulating hydrogels and proposing a new strategy for mechanoregulated soft functional materials.

Classification and representative applications of nanocolloidal hydrogels. Image credit: Morozova and coauthors

  • Nanocolloidal hydrogels (NCGs) have a unique property in that they are made up of nanoparticles that form a colloidal network. This gives them a high surface area to volume ratio, which makes them more efficient at transporting and releasing drugs or other active agents.

  • This review covers the design, characterization, and applications of NCGs, including their synthesis and assembly from a variety of nanoparticles, polymers, and low-molecular weight molecules.

  • NCGs can be synthesized and assembled from a broad range of nanoparticles, polymers, and low-molecular weight molecules.

  • An attractive field of research is the utilization of bioresources for the synthesis and fabrication of NPs, since the environmental footprint will decrease by the sustainable use of natural resources.

  • The synthesis and fabrication of NPs with assistance of machine learning (ML) is a new and rapidly developing area of research, which offers a very promising tool for the accelerated identification and optimization of the chemical space for NP synthesis and, potentially, for the discovery of new types of NPs.

Image Of The Day

This simple stock image of water is simple, yet it adequately delivers the key message of water-borne chemical reactions. It reminds me that fancy 3D graphics may be attractive, but it is the degree of relevance between image-content that matters. Image credit: C&EN

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