Micromechanical properties of biomedical hydrogel for application as microchannel elastomer

Abstract

Polymers are believed to be the building blocks for the creation of the next generation of materials and devices in practically all areas of biomedical research. There are a number of polymers that are being employed in varied applications in microfluidic platform due to the tremendous possibilities for soft matter based elastomers especially in biomedical applications. Polymeric hydrogels have been used as building block in micro-confinements and for specified function such as flow control. The need exists to suitably determine the mechanical characteristics of gel-based materials for possible use as a microchannel elastomer. In this investigation, we describe synthesis procedure, morphological, wettability characterization of hydrogel elastomer synthesized by free-radical polymerization crosslinked over varying acrylamide composition for 10% w/v: 25% w/w, 15% w/v: 25% w/w, 20% w/v: 25% w/w and 25% w/v: 25% w/w respectively. Micromechanical properties such as surface morphology, wettability, and micro-rheological behaviour of hydrogel elastomer using standard protocols was undertaken to determine roughness, contact angle, loss modulus and storage modulus over varied cross-linking of the constituent monomers. The impact of these parameters on flow transport and microchannel structural stability is well delineated in this report. We established that polymeric hydrogel could be a candidate for whole microchannel elastomer with suitable application in areas of tissues and biomedical engineering to mimic native biological transport conduits.