title: High strength and low friction of a PAA-alginate-silica hydrogel as potential material for artificial soft tissues.
abstract: In this study, a series of poly(acrylic) acid (PAA)-based hydrogels was prepared by UV polymerization. Hydrogels with an interpenetrating network structure were formed by combining PAA and alginate (Alg) solutions. The incorporation of nano-silica into these gel solutions significantly increased their compressive strength and fracture toughness but lowered their cross-linking density and friction coefficient. The prepared hydrogels were considerably hydrophilic for water content greater than 98%, which is in accordance with the nature of soft tissues such as cartilage. The preliminary cell culture of adipose stem cells (ADSCs) on PAA-Alg-Si hydrogels results in good biological safety. These features suggest that the PAA-Alg-Si hydrogels prepared in this study can be used as artificial soft tissues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Southern Taiwan University, Tainan 710, Taiwan. hrlin@mail.stut.edu.tw
authors.forename: Hong-Ru
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Ming-Hung
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Ling
authors.forename: Yiu-Jiuan
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lin