Aggregation of poly(acrylic acid)-containing elastin-mimetic copolymers

Crosslinked alpha-elastin biomaterials: towards a processable elastin mimetic scaffold.

Elastin is a critical biochemical and biomechanical component of vascular tissue. However, elastin is also highly insoluble and therefore difficult to process into new biomaterials. We present a simple approach for synthesizing elastin-based materials from two commercially available and water-soluble components: alpha-elastin and a diepoxy crosslinker. Reaction pH was shown to modulate the degr...

Self-assembly of elastin-mimetic double hydrophobic polypeptides.

We have constructed a novel class of "double-hydrophobic" block polypeptides based on the hydrophobic domains found in native elastin, an extracellular matrix protein responsible for the elasticity and resilience of tissues. The block polypeptides comprise proline-rich poly(VPGXG) and glycine-rich poly(VGGVG), both of which dehydrate at higher temperature but form distinct secondary structures,...

Preparation of Micro-Crystalline Cellulose-Reinforced Polyacrylic Acid Hydrogel and its Application in Paper/Polyacrylic Acid Composites

Paper/polyacrylic acid (PAA) composites were prepared using a microcrystalline cellulose (MCC)-reinforced PAA hydrogel. The MCC-reinforced PAA hydrogel was prepared by in-situ UV light-induced polymerization of acrylic acid in the presence of MCC. The experimental results showed that the presence of MCC improved the water absorption capacity of the resulting PAA hydrogel. The addition of 1 wt% ...

TiO2 Pigment Suspension Behaviour upon Adsorption of Polymeric Dispersants

The influence of polymeric dispersants containing different functional groups on TiO2 pigment particle suspension was investigated at pH 6.0 and 9.5, using rheology and particle size data. The dispersants chosen were polyacrylic acid and modified polyacrylamides including homo and copolymers modified with carboxylate and/or hydroxyl groups. The pigment suspension was strongly affected by both p...

Thermally gelling, thermally responsive elastin-mimetic triblock hydrogels