Colloidal Supraballs of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles as Bioresorbable Adhesives for Hydrogels

Abstract

The adsorption of polymers at the surface of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) has been shown to provide a versatile way to create adhesion between hydrogels or biological tissues. Nevertheless, above a critical number of deposited nanoparticles, thick multilayers accumulate at the interface and the adhesion strength decreases as cracks easily propagate between weakly cohesive polymer-free nanoparticles. In order to suppress this limitation, we prepared spherical aggregates by spray drying during which MSNs are strongly adhered to by thermal annealing. The coatings produced with these microscopic supraballs (SB-MSNs) exhibit the same high specific surface area as MSN layers but with a much stronger cohesion between nanoparticles. Lap-shear tests with polydimethylacrylamide hydrogels clearly showed that the adhesion energy with supraballs can be significantly enhanced compared with nanoparticles (∼200% at 0.4 wt %). Peeling tests showed that the maximum adhesion energy reached with SB-MSNs (8 ± 0.5 J/m2) is significantly higher than the one achieved with nonaggregated nonporous (3 ± 0.1 J/m2) or mesoporous (6 ± 0.4 J/m2) SNs. It can be even further increased (10 ± 0.4 J/m2) by using macroporous supraballs. Moreover, confocal observations reveal that the largest adhesion enhancement obtained at high deposition concentrations is related to the formation of corrugated interfaces stabilized by supraballs. Finally, SB-MSNs degrade in biological media at the same rate as the elementary mesoporous nanoparticles, therefore offering an interesting combination of adhesion and bioresorbability for use as bioadhesives.

Ultrafast Fabrication of Lignin-Encapsulated Silica Nanoparticles Reinforced Conductive Hydrogels with High Elasticity and Self-Adhesion for Strain Sensors

“…44 Meanwhile, SNs are able to serve as the physical cross-link points of the hydrogels to increase the polymeric cross-linking density, thus improving the mechanical robustness upon deformation. 45,46 For example, Meng et al 47 presented a hysteresis-free hydrogel by hyperbranched silica nanoparticles acting as the dominant cross-links to exhibit superior elastic behavior, virtually free of mechanical hysteresis even after 5000 cyclic loadings. Hence, considering these unique advantages, we chose SNs as the nanoreinforced materials for the fabrication of excellent mechanical properties hydrogels.…”

“…Among them, silica nanoparticles (SNs) are one of promising nanofillers for preparing tough nanocomposite hydrogels, due to their uniform structure, high adsorption capacity, and abundance of surface hydroxyl groups . Meanwhile, SNs are able to serve as the physical cross-link points of the hydrogels to increase the polymeric cross-linking density, thus improving the mechanical robustness upon deformation. , For example, Meng et al . presented a hysteresis-free hydrogel by hyperbranched silica nanoparticles acting as the dominant cross-links to exhibit superior elastic behavior, virtually free of mechanical hysteresis even after 5000 cyclic loadings.…”

Cellulose-Based Ionic Conductor: An Emerging Material toward Sustainable Devices

“…Hybridization is one of most general strengthening strategies in material science. Over the past decade, various kinds of organic or inorganic reinforcing agents with shape ranging from 0D (e.g., silica nanoparticle, , hydroxyapatite nanoparticle , ) to 1D (e.g., CNF, − ,, CNC, ,− , carbon nanotube , ) to 2D (e.g., graphene oxide, , MXene ,− ) materials, as well as polymer chains, , have been introduced to enhance the mechanical strength of cellulose-based hydrogel. For example, Deng et al demonstrated that addition of 5 wt % rectorite can significantly improve the maximum compressive stress of cellulose/chitosan hydrogel to 5.65 MPa .…”

Solid-state inorganic and metallic adhesives for soft biological tissues

“…Based on their simulation results, Baik et al . claimed in 2022 [30] that when two hydrogels are adhered using a high-concentration nanoparticulate adhesive, resulting in the accumulation of a thick multilayer of nanoparticles between them, they can be easily separated via the propagation of a crack formed in the nanoparticle layer (i.e . , owing to cohesive failure of the adhesive) because of weak interparticle forces.…”

“…Baik et al . achieved this by fabricating micron-sized spherical aggregates of nanoparticles, which led to an approximately 200 % increase in the adhesion energy compared with that of non-aggregated nanoparticles [30] . Another way to improve the adhesion strength (i.e .…”