Hydrogels provide a solution-mimicking environment for the interaction with living systems that make them desirable for various biomedical and technological applications. Because relevant biological processes in living tissues occur at the biomolecular scale, hydrogel nanopatterning can be leveraged to attain enhanced material properties and functionalities. However, the fabrication of high aspect ratio (HAR) nanostructures in hydrogels capable of self-standing in aqueous environments with fine control of the size and shape distribution remains challenging. Here, we report the synthesis of nanostructures with a HAR in bacterial cellulose (BC) hydrogel via directed plasma nanosynthesis using argon ions. The nanostructures in BC are reproducible, stable to sterilization, and liquid immersion. Using surface characterization and semiempirical modeling, we discovered that pattern formation was linked to the formation of graphite-like clusters composed of a mixture of C—C and C═C bonds. Moreover, our model predicts that reactive species at the onset of the argon irradiation accelerate the bond breaking of weak bonds, contributing to the formation of an amorphous carbon layer and nanopattern growth. The mechanical stability of the BC’s HAR nanostructures can be potentially used in biosensing and antibiofouling interfaces.

中文翻译：

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离子诱导细菌纤维素水凝胶的纳米图案用于生物传感和抗生物污损的界面。

水凝胶为与生物系统的相互作用提供了一种模仿溶液的环境，这使其成为各种生物医学和技术应用的理想选择。因为在生物组织中生物组织中发生了相关的生物学过程，所以可以利用水凝胶纳米图案化来获得增强的材料特性和功能。然而，在水凝胶中能够自立并精确控制尺寸和形状分布的水凝胶中高纵横比（HAR）纳米结构的制造仍然具有挑战性。在这里，我们报告通过使用氩离子的定向等离子体纳米合成在细菌纤维素（BC）水凝胶中用HAR合成纳米结构。BC中的纳米结构可重现，对灭菌和液浸稳定。使用表面表征和半经验建模，我们发现，图案的形成与由CC和C═C键的混合物组成的类石墨簇的形成有关。此外，我们的模型预测，在氩气照射开始时，反应性物种会加速弱键的键断裂，从而促进非晶碳层的形成和纳米图案的生长。BC的HAR纳米结构的机械稳定性可潜在地用于生物传感和防污垢界面。