Hydrogen-Bonding-Driven Multifunctional Polymer Hydrogel Networks Based on Tannic Acid

Abstract

A hydrogel network based on noncovalent intermolecular interactions via mixing of poly(methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic anhydride) (PMVEMA), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and tannic acid (TA) aqueous solutions was developed. The coacervation and hydrogel formation process is driven by hydrogen-bonding interactions between catechol moieties of TA, hydroxide groups of PVA, and carboxylic acid groups of PMVEMA. The formation of the PMVEMA–PVA–TA (PPTA) gel occurs in seconds and can be readily obtained and scaled up in both ionic and nonionic systems. It is noteworthy that this PPTA gel can be stretched more than 135 times its original size and for potential preparation of mechanically strong fibers. The gel can be also remodeled on diverse substrates and into different shapes. The electrical response sensing behavior promotes the PPTA gel material as a great candidate for fabricating strain sensors. The as-prepared PPTA gel exhibits excellent adhesion to different substrates and shows antibacterial properties against both Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) bacteria and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria, which provides a promising candidate for the design of biocompatible drug carriers with facile fabrication and flexible modification for various biomedical applications.