Micro-patterned hydrogels have received increasing attention in various research fields that need a fine structure and advanced functions compared to bulk hydrogels. For enhancing their performance, control of the size and distribution of pores in hydrogels is crucial. In particular, for the application of thermoresponsive hydrogels to a soft actuator, the characteristics of pores play an important role in enhancing the response time. We formed a porous structure in micro-patterns of polydiethylacrylamide (PDEAM), a thermoresponsive hydrogel, and analyzed the effect of pore size on the response time of the patterned hydrogels. Micro-patterned thermoresponsive hydrogels are fabricated by photo-crosslinking PDEAM copolymerized with benzophenone photo-crosslinker and polystyrene (PS) as a porogen. Pores sufficiently smaller than patterned objects, between a few micrometers to a few tens of micrometers, are successfully formed by controlling the content and molecular weight of PS. As the size and number of pores increase, the response time is improved, and the response time for swelling and deswelling is improved by up to 52 and 43% by blending PDEAM with 50 vol% of low molecular weight PS (5 kg/mol). This simple way to form a sub-millimeter scale hydrogel structure with controlled pores can be utilized in the emerging research fields, including 3D cell scaffolds, targeted drug delivery, and soft robotics.

与本体水凝胶相比，微图案水凝胶在各种需要精细结构和先进功能的研​​究领域中受到越来越多的关注。为了提高其性能，控制水凝胶中孔的大小和分布至关重要。特别地，对于将热响应性水凝胶应用于软致动器而言，孔的特性在增加响应时间方面起着重要作用。我们在聚二乙基丙烯酰胺（PDEAM）的微图案中形成了多孔结构，该图案是热响应性水凝胶，并分析了孔径对图案化水凝胶响应时间的影响。通过将PDEAM与二苯甲酮光交联剂和聚苯乙烯（PS）作为致孔剂共聚，进行光交联，从而制得微图案化的热响应水凝胶。毛孔远小于图案对象，通过控制PS的含量和分子量成功地形成了介于几微米至几十微米之间的膜。随着孔的大小和数量的增加，通过将PDEAM与50体积％的低分子量PS（5 kg / mol）掺合，响应时间得到改善，溶胀和溶胀的响应时间最多可以提高52％和43％。 。这种形成具有受控孔的亚毫米级水凝胶结构的简单方法可用于新兴研究领域，包括3D细胞支架，靶向药物递送和软机器人。通过将PDEAM与50 vol％的低分子量PS（5 kg / mol）掺合，溶胀和溶胀的响应时间最多可提高52％和43％。这种形成具有受控孔的亚毫米级水凝胶结构的简单方法可用于新兴研究领域，包括3D细胞支架，靶向药物递送和软机器人。通过将PDEAM与50 vol％的低分子量PS（5 kg / mol）掺合，溶胀和溶胀的响应时间最多可提高52％和43％。这种形成具有受控孔的亚毫米级水凝胶结构的简单方法可用于新兴研究领域，包括3D细胞支架，靶向药物递送和软机器人。