title: Control superstructure of rigid polyelectrolytes in oppositely charged hydrogels via programmed internal stress.
abstract: Biomacromolecules usually form complex superstructures in natural biotissues, such as different alignments of collagen fibres in articular cartilages, for multifunctionalities. Inspired by nature, there are efforts towards developing multiscale ordered structures in hydrogels (recognized as one of the best candidates of soft biotissues). However, creating complex superstructures in gels are hardly realized because of the absence of effective approaches to control the localized molecular orientation. Here we introduce a method to create various superstructures of rigid polyanions in polycationic hydrogels. The control of localized orientation of rigid molecules, which are sensitive to the internal stress field of the gel, is achieved by tuning the swelling mismatch between masked and unmasked regions of the photolithographic patterned gel. Furthermore, we develop a double network structure to toughen the hydrogels with programmed superstructures, which deform reversibly under large strain. This work presents a promising pathway to develop superstructures in hydrogels and should shed light on designing biomimetic materials with intricate molecular alignments.
authors.affiliation: 1] Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan [2].
authors.forename: Riku
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: 1] Faculty of Advanced Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan [2] [3].
authors.forename: Zi Liang
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Advanced Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan.
authors.forename: Md
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arifuzzaman
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Advanced Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan.
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nonoyama
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Advanced Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan.
authors.forename: Tasuku
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Advanced Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan.
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kurokawa
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Advanced Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan.
authors.forename: Jian Ping
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Gong