Peptide‐Reinforced Amphiphilic Polymer Conetworks. (17th October 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Velasquez, Sara T. R.; Jang, Daseul; Jenkins, Peter; Liu, Peng; Yang, Liu; Korley, LaShanda T. J.; Bruns, Nico
• Is Part Of: Advanced functional materials. Volume 32:Number 51(2022)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2022-10-17
• Subjects: amphiphilic polymer networks -- bio‐inspired polymeric materials -- hydrogels -- mechanical properties -- peptide‐polymer hybrids -- peptides -- polymer reinforcements; Materials -- Periodicals; Chemical vapor deposition -- Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202207317
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1616-301X

Abstract

Abstract: Amphiphilic polymer conetworks (APCNs) are polymer networks composed of hydrophilic and hydrophobic chain segments. Their applications range from soft contact lenses to membranes and biomaterials. APCNs based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and poly(2‐hydroxyethyl acrylate) are flexible and elastic in the dry and swollen state. However, they are not good at resisting deformation under load, i.e., their toughness is low. A bio‐inspired approach to reinforce APCNs is presented based on the incorporation of poly(β‐benzyl‐L‐aspartate) (PBLA) blocks between cross‐linking points and PDMS chain segments. The mechanical properties of the resulting peptide‐reinforced APCNs can be tailored by the secondary structure of the peptide chains (β‐sheets or a mixture of α‐helices and β‐sheets). Compared to non‐reinforced APCNs, the peptide‐reinforced networks have higher extensibility (53 vs. up to 341%), strength (0.71 ± 0.16 vs. 22.28 ± 2.81 MPa), and toughness (0.10 ± 0.04 vs. up to 4.85 ± 1.32 MJ m −3 ), as measured in their dry state. The PBLA peptides reversibly toughen and reinforce the APCNs, while other key material properties of APCNs are retained, such as optical transparency and swellability in water and organic solvents. This paves the way for applications of APCNs that benefit from significantly increased mechanical properties. Abstract : The mechanical properties of bioinspired amphiphilic polymer conetworks (APCNs) are tailored through the reinforcement with peptide‐polydimethylsiloxane‐peptide triblock copolymer crosslinkers and characterized through physical, morphological, and mechanical characterization. The obtained results are compared with non‐peptidic APCNs which show there is significant improvement in stress, strain, and toughness.