Polyelectrolyte hydrogel fibers can
mimic the extracellular matrix
and be used for tissue scaffolding. Mechanical properties of polyelectrolyte
nanofibers are crucial in manipulating cell behavior, which metal
ions have been found to enable tuning. While metal ions play an important
role in manipulating the mechanical properties of the fibers, evaluating
the mechanical properties of a single hydrated hydrogel fiber remains
a challenging task and a more detailed understanding of how ions modulate
the mechanical properties of individual polyelectrolyte polymers is
still lacking. In this study, dark-field microscopy and persistence
length analysis help directly evaluate fiber mechanics using electrospun
fibers of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), chitosan (CS), and ferric ions
as a model system. By comparing the persistence length and estimated
Young’s modulus of different nanofibers, we demonstrate that
persistence length analysis is a viable approach to evaluate mechanical
properties of hydrated fibers. Ferric ions were found to create shorter
and stiffer nanofibers, with Young’s modulus estimated at a
few kilopascals. Ferric ions, at low concentration, reduce the Young’s
modulus of PAA and PAA/CS fibers through the interaction between ferric
ions and carboxylate groups. Such interaction was further supported
by nanoscale infrared spectroscopy studies of PAA and PAA/CS fibers
with different concentrations of ferric ions.