Regulatory parameters of self-healing alginate hydrogel networks prepared via mussel-inspired dynamic chemistry

Several key parameters that influence both the self-healing properties and water retention capacity of biohydrogel networks made of alginate-dopamine (Alg-DA) conjugates have been studied. A judicious combination of biopolymer concentration, dopamine content, pH-dependent cross-linking of catechol groups and the Fe3+-coordination of the networks allowed control over the self-healing ability of these bioinspired materials. Moreover, the thixotropic nature of model hydrogels was confirmed using oscillatory rheological loop tests.Financial support from Universität Regensburg and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG 9209720) is gratefully acknowledged. J. V. A.-R. thanks the Diputación General de Aragón (DGA) for a predoctoral fellowship. D. D. D. thanks DFG for the Heisenberg Professorship Award.Peer Reviewe