title: Nanoengineering of a biocompatible organogel by thermal processing.
abstract: The formation of most organogels requires the compatibility of both the gelator and solvent. It is very desirable if the rheological properties of a gel can be manipulated to achieve the desired performance. In this paper, a novel organogel was developed and its rheological properties and fiber network were engineered by controlling the thermal processing conditions. The gel was formed by the gelation of 12-hydroxystearic acid as a gelator in benzyl benzoate. It was observed that the degree of supercooling for gel formation has a significant effect on the rheological properties and fiber network structure. By increasing supercooling, the elasticity of the gel was enhanced, and the correlation length of the fibers was shortened, leading to the formation of denser fiber networks. The good biocompatibility of both the gelator and solvent makes this gel a promising vehicle for a variety of bioapplications such as controlled transdermal drug release and in vivo tissue repair.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117542.
authors.forename: Jing-Liang
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Rong-Yao
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiang-Yang
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Hai-Hua
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Pan
mesh_terms: D001565:Benzoates / Q000737:chemistry*; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D005782:Gels / Q000737:chemistry; D036103:Nanotechnology; D010316:Particle Size; D012212:Rheology; D013229:Stearic Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D001565:Benzoates; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D005782:Gels; D013229:Stearic Acids; C006723:benzyl benzoate