Wet spinning and 3D printing of supramolecular hydrogels in acid-base and dynamic conditions

Self-Sorting in Multicomponent Supramolecular Gels Using Different Assembly Triggers and Calcium Ion-Induced Diffusion Patterning

“…Previously, we have explored patterning multicomponent gels by acid diffusion, − demonstrating it is a powerful approach to generating dynamic multidomain gels with evolving and/or transient spatially resolved characteristics. Although studies in which H + diffusion is used to trigger gelation are increasingly common, − very few studies have investigated the diffusion of other active species in order to trigger gel formation. ,,− Having demonstrated that CaCl 2 was an effective alternative trigger for multicomponent systems, yielding fully characterized self-sorted multicomponent gels across all length scales, we next decided to explore whether calcium ions could be used as a mild, diffusible trigger to pattern these multicomponent gels. The goal was to achieve spatial and temporal control of Nap-FF assembly by diffusing CaCl 2 within a preformed DBS-CONHNH 2 matrix.…”

“…Furthermore, we wanted to explore the considerable potential of Ca 2+ to create patterned gels (Figure c). There has been emerging interest in shaping and patterning supramolecular gels, , and diffusion can be an effective way of achieving dynamic patterning. , For example, some studies have used H + diffusion to trigger gel assembly with spatial and temporal resolution. − We previously achieved spatiotemporally resolved patterning of DBS-COOH and DBS-CONHNH 2 based on acid diffusion. − We reasoned that replacing DBS-COOH with Nap-FF may not only raise the p K a value to useful levels but also enable calcium ion diffusion to direct gel assembly, offering a potentially biocompatible method for generating patterned multidomain materials with potential future applications in tissue engineering.…”