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Effects Of Hofmeister Ions On Solubility And Swelling On Gelatin Hydrogels, Hannah Eldridge
Effects Of Hofmeister Ions On Solubility And Swelling On Gelatin Hydrogels, Hannah Eldridge
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
Hydrogels are known to be weak and brittle, due to the amounts of water that they hold. Gelatin-based hydrogels specifically are inexpensive and easily accessible, but often have poor physical properties. The goal of my project was to strengthen gelatin-based hydrogels and improve their mechanical properties by forming these hydrogels in different aqueous solutions containing kosmotropic Hofmeister's ions. Prior research has shown that these ions are able to take water away from gelatin-based gels, which forms a tougher hydrogel. The success of this project will be measured by studying the solubility and swelling effects that different Hofmeister ions have on …
Effects Of Hofmeister Ions On Gelation Of Gelatin And Pluronic Hydrogels, Eric Britton
Effects Of Hofmeister Ions On Gelation Of Gelatin And Pluronic Hydrogels, Eric Britton
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
The purpose of the project was to observe the effects of the Hofmeister series of ions on the gelation of gelatin and Pluronic-127 hydrogels. Hydrogels are semi-solid materials that contain a network of joined molecules through intermolecular interactions which are capable of holding water. Gelatin and Pluronic-127 (PF-127) are thermoreversible, physical crosslinked gels. Gelation occurs when temperature, or other driving forces, reduce the polymer chain solubility until a distinct 2-phase system forms. When aqueous ions are present in solution, they exhibit specific ion effects that have either a stabilizing or destabilizing effect on the solubility of proteins and other polymers. …