Hierarchically Structured Porous Poly(2‐oxazoline) Hydrogels. Issue 1 (16th October 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Haigh, Jodie N.; Chuang, Ya‐mi; Farrugia, Brooke; Hoogenboom, Richard; Dalton, Paul D.; Dargaville, Tim R.
• Is Part Of: Macromolecular rapid communications. Volume 37:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 93
• Page End: 99
• Publication Date: 2015-10-16
• Subjects: fibers -- ;hydrogels -- ;melt electrospinning -- ;poly(2‐oxazoline)s -- ;porous materials; Macromolecules -- Periodicals; Polymers -- Periodicals; Chemistry -- Periodicals; 547.705
• DOI: 10.1002/marc.201500495
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1022-1336

Abstract

Abstract : A new method for fabricating hydrogels with intricate control over hierarchical 3D porosity using microfiber porogens is presented. Melt electrospinning writing of poly(ε‐caprolactone) is used to create the sacrificial template leading to hierarchical structuring consisting of pores inside the denser poly(2‐oxazoline) hydrogel mesh. This versatile approach provides new opportunities to create well‐defined multilevel control over interconnected pores with diameters in the lower micrometer range inside hydrogels with potential applications as cell scaffolds with tunable diffusion and transport of, e.g., nutrients, growth factors or therapeutics. Abstract : Printing pores : The recently developed additive manufacturing technique of melt electrospinning writing is used to create sacrificial 3D microfiber templates to prepare hydrogels. The outcome is hierarchically structured poly(2‐oxazoline) hydrogels with spatially controlled interconnected pores matching the design of the original template. This provides a fundamentally new pathway to porous hydrogels.