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Hierarchically Structured Porous Poly(2‐oxazoline) Hydrogels
Author(s) -
Haigh Jodie N.,
Chuang Yami,
Farrugia Brooke,
Hoogenboom Richard,
Dalton Paul D.,
Dargaville Tim R.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
macromolecular rapid communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.348
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1521-3927
pISSN - 1022-1336
DOI - 10.1002/marc.201500495
Subject(s) - self healing hydrogels , microfiber , materials science , porosity , micrometer , electrospinning , nanofiber , nanotechnology , template , chemical engineering , polymer , composite material , polymer chemistry , physics , engineering , optics
A new method for fabricating hydrogels with intricate control over hierarchical 3D porosity using microfiber porogens is presented. Melt electrospinning writing of poly(ε‐caprolactone) is used to create the sacrificial template leading to hierarchical structuring consisting of pores inside the denser poly(2‐oxazoline) hydrogel mesh. This versatile approach provides new opportunities to create well‐defined multilevel control over interconnected pores with diameters in the lower micrometer range inside hydrogels with potential applications as cell scaffolds with tunable diffusion and transport of, e.g., nutrients, growth factors or therapeutics.