title: Electrical behavior of a natural polyelectrolyte hydrogel: chitosan/carboxymethylcellulose hydrogel.
abstract: An amphoteric hydrogel film was prepared by solution blending of two natural polyelectrolytes, chitosan and carboxymethylcellulose, and cross-linking with glutaraldehyde. The bending of the film in an electric field was studied in different electrolyte solutions. Because of its amphoteric nature, the hydrogel can bend toward either anode or cathode depending on the pH of the solution. Other factors such as ionic strength and electric field strength also influence the electromechanical behavior of the hydrogels. The equilibrium bending angle of the hydrogel was found to reach a maximum at about 90 degrees in pH = 6 Britton-Robinson buffer solution with an ionic strength of 0.2 M. The sensitivity of the films over a wide range of pH and the good reversibility of this natural amphoteric electric-sensitive hydrogel suggest its future use in microsensor and actuator applications, especially in the biomedical field.
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers of MOE, Department of Macromolecular Science, Advanced Material Laboratory, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.forename: Zhengzhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D002266:Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D048271:Chitosan / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D004563:Electrochemistry; D004573:Electrolytes; D005976:Glutaral / Q000378:metabolism; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
chemical_list: D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D004573:Electrolytes; D011108:Polymers; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate; D048271:Chitosan; D002266:Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium; D005976:Glutaral