Controlled Thermoreversible Formation of Supramolecular Hydrogels Based on Poly(vinyl alcohol) and Natural Phenolic Compounds

ESTEBAN M. EUTI; ALEXIS WOLFEL; MATÍAS L. PICCHIO; MARCELO R. ROMERO; MARISA MARTINELLI; ROQUE J. MINARI; CECILIA I. ALVAREZ IGARZABAL

MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS

WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH

Lugar: Weinheim; Año: 2019 vol. 40

1022-1336

upramolecular hydrogels have promising applications in a wide variety offields including 3D bioprinting, sensors and actuators, biomedicine, and controlled drug delivery. This communication reports the facile reversible thermotriggered formation of novel pH-responsive supramolecular hydrogels based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) bonded via dynamic H-bridge with small phenolic biomolecules.PVA and phenolic compounds form a clear solution when they are physically mixed in water at high temperature, but a fast gelation is produced at room temperature through multiple strong H-bonding interactions. The structureand type of functional groups of different phenolic molecules allow preparinghydrogels with tailor-made viscoelastic properties, controlled low phasetransition temperature, and pH-dependent swelling behavior. This combinationmakes these supramolecular networks very interesting candidates to be used in3D bioprinting and topical drug delivery of thermolabile biomolecules.