Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Singh, Nishant
• Lainer, Bruno
• Formon, Georges J. M
• De Piccoli, Serena
• Hermans, Thomas M

Titel

Re-programming Hydrogel Properties Using a Fuel-Driven Reaction Cycle

Ist Teil von

• Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2020-03, Vol.142 (9), p.4083-4087

Ort / Verlag

United States: American Chemical Society

Erscheinungsjahr

2020

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Nature uses catalysis as an indispensable tool to control assembly and reaction cycles in vital non-equilibrium supra­molecular processes. For instance, enzymatic methionine oxidation regulates actin (dis-)­assembly, and catalytic guanosine triphosphate hydrolysis is found in tubulin (dis-)­assembly. Here we present a completely artificial reaction cycle which is driven by a chemical fuel that is catalytically obtained from a “pre-fuel”. The reaction cycle controls the dis-assembly and re-assembly of a hydrogel, where the rate of pre-fuel turnover dictates the morphology as well as the mechanical properties. By addition of additional fresh aliquots of fuel and removal of waste, the hydrogels can be re-programmed time after time. Overall, we show how catalytic fuel generation can control reaction/assembly kinetics and materials’ properties in life-like non-equilibrium systems.