Decoupling of Mechanical and Transport Properties in Organogels via Solvent Variation
Organogels have recently been considered as materials for transdermal drug delivery media, wherein their transport and mechanical properties are among the most important considerations. Transport through organogels has only recently been investigated and findings highlight an inextricable link betwe...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Gels |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/7/2/61 |
| _version_ | 1797533193419620352 |
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| author | Kenneth P. Mineart Cameron Hong Lucas A. Rankin |
| author_facet | Kenneth P. Mineart Cameron Hong Lucas A. Rankin |
| author_sort | Kenneth P. Mineart |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Organogels have recently been considered as materials for transdermal drug delivery media, wherein their transport and mechanical properties are among the most important considerations. Transport through organogels has only recently been investigated and findings highlight an inextricable link between gels’ transport and mechanical properties based upon the formulated polymer concentration. Here, organogels composed of styrenic triblock copolymer and different aliphatic mineral oils, each with a unique dynamic viscosity, are characterized in terms of their quasi-static uniaxial mechanical behavior and the internal diffusion of two unique solute penetrants. Mechanical testing results indicate that variation of mineral oil viscosity does not affect gel mechanical behavior. This likely stems from negligible changes in the interactions between mineral oils and the block copolymer, which leads to consistent crosslinked network structure and chain entanglement (at a fixed polymer concentration). Conversely, results from diffusion experiments highlight that two penetrants—oleic acid (OA) and aggregated aerosol-OT (AOT)—diffuse through gels at a rate inversely proportional to mineral oil viscosity. The inverse dependence is theoretically supported by the hydrodynamic model of solute diffusion through gels. Collectively, our results show that organogel solvent variation can be used as a design parameter to tailor solute transport through gels while maintaining fixed mechanical properties. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:11:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2b5d792e4abc44318f85f3c622b110f3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2310-2861 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:11:04Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Gels |
| spelling | doaj.art-2b5d792e4abc44318f85f3c622b110f32023-11-21T20:47:03ZengMDPI AGGels2310-28612021-05-01726110.3390/gels7020061Decoupling of Mechanical and Transport Properties in Organogels via Solvent VariationKenneth P. Mineart0Cameron Hong1Lucas A. Rankin2Department of Chemical Engineering, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA 17837, USADepartment of Chemical Engineering, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA 17837, USADepartment of Chemical Engineering, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA 17837, USAOrganogels have recently been considered as materials for transdermal drug delivery media, wherein their transport and mechanical properties are among the most important considerations. Transport through organogels has only recently been investigated and findings highlight an inextricable link between gels’ transport and mechanical properties based upon the formulated polymer concentration. Here, organogels composed of styrenic triblock copolymer and different aliphatic mineral oils, each with a unique dynamic viscosity, are characterized in terms of their quasi-static uniaxial mechanical behavior and the internal diffusion of two unique solute penetrants. Mechanical testing results indicate that variation of mineral oil viscosity does not affect gel mechanical behavior. This likely stems from negligible changes in the interactions between mineral oils and the block copolymer, which leads to consistent crosslinked network structure and chain entanglement (at a fixed polymer concentration). Conversely, results from diffusion experiments highlight that two penetrants—oleic acid (OA) and aggregated aerosol-OT (AOT)—diffuse through gels at a rate inversely proportional to mineral oil viscosity. The inverse dependence is theoretically supported by the hydrodynamic model of solute diffusion through gels. Collectively, our results show that organogel solvent variation can be used as a design parameter to tailor solute transport through gels while maintaining fixed mechanical properties.https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/7/2/61organogelblock copolymerstructure–property relationshipstransportmechanics |
| spellingShingle | Kenneth P. Mineart Cameron Hong Lucas A. Rankin Decoupling of Mechanical and Transport Properties in Organogels via Solvent Variation Gels organogel block copolymer structure–property relationships transport mechanics |
| title | Decoupling of Mechanical and Transport Properties in Organogels via Solvent Variation |
| title_full | Decoupling of Mechanical and Transport Properties in Organogels via Solvent Variation |
| title_fullStr | Decoupling of Mechanical and Transport Properties in Organogels via Solvent Variation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Decoupling of Mechanical and Transport Properties in Organogels via Solvent Variation |
| title_short | Decoupling of Mechanical and Transport Properties in Organogels via Solvent Variation |
| title_sort | decoupling of mechanical and transport properties in organogels via solvent variation |
| topic | organogel block copolymer structure–property relationships transport mechanics |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/7/2/61 |
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