Authors
Qigang Wang, Justin Mynar, and Takuzo Aida
Summary
This protocol describes a facile, quick and reproducible preparation of hydrogels. The protocol requires four components: water, clay nanosheets (Clay-NS), a dendritic macromolecule (Gn-binder; n = generation number) and sodium polyacrylate (ASAP). Upon mixing with ASAP in water, Clay-NS, which are heavily entangled with one another, are exfoliated and dispersed homogenously because of a possible site-specific wrapping of their positive-charged edge parts with anionic ASAP. Meanwhile, Gn-binder possesses two dendron units, which are decorated with multiple guanidinium ion pendants on their periphery. A previous paper1 reports that a mono-dendron version of Gn-binder interacts strongly with the oxyanionic surface groups of proteins. Upon addition of Gn-binder to the aqueous solution of Clay-NS with ASAP, exfoliated nanosheets of clay are crosslinked kinetically through multivalent salt-bridge formation between the guanidinium ion pendants of Gn-binder and oxyanionic groups on the nanosheet surface. Consequently, the hydrogelation takes place.Further details
The protocol was published on Protocol Exchange on 22 January 2010. To see the entire protocol, click on the source link.Advertisement
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