Polymeric hydrogels continue to find a wide range of applications. However, a major drawback of hydrogels is the lack of mechanical strength. In this regard, “Double Network Hydrogels” (DN) have shown great promise recently. The toughness in DN hydrogels originates from the synergistic effect of two polymeric networks. In this work, we have synthesized a DN hydrogel consisting of a tightly cross linked carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) as the first network and loosely cross linked poly(hydroxyethylacrylate) (PHEA) as a second network (CMC-PHEA-DN). The required flexibility in the second network (PHEA) was induced by the presence of a small amount of stearyl methacrylate (SM) as a co-monomer in hydroxyl ethyl acrylate (HEA). The compressive strength of the CMC-PEHA-DN hydrogel was found to be 280 times more than that of CMC-SN hydrogel, and the presence of SM in DN hydrogels showed better recovery after deformation. Cell viability studies showed the biocompatibility of DN hydrogels. The micro-structural analysis of DN xerogels by 3D X-ray Microtomography indicated the presence of oriented pores in size range of 30–40 μm. To the best of our knowledge, Microtomography was used for the first time to study the DN gels. These hydrogels can be used to develop implants that can withstand prolonged stress and expand the life span of implants.

聚合物水凝胶继续得到广泛的应用。然而，水凝胶的一个主要缺点是缺乏机械强度。在这方面，“双网络水凝胶”（DN）最近显示出了巨大的希望。DN 水凝胶的韧性源于两种聚合物网络的协同作用。在这项工作中，我们合成了一种 DN 水凝胶，它由紧密交联的羧甲基纤维素 (CMC) 作为第一个网络和松散交联的聚(羟乙基丙烯酸酯) (PHEA) 作为第二个网络 (CMC-PHEA-DN) 组成。第二个网络 (PHEA) 所需的柔韧性是由少量甲基丙烯酸硬脂酯 (SM) 作为共聚单体存在于丙烯酸羟乙酯 (HEA) 中引起的。发现 CMC-PEHA-DN 水凝胶的抗压强度是 CMC-SN 水凝胶的 280 倍，DN 水凝胶中 SM 的存在显示出更好的变形后恢复。细胞活力研究表明 DN 水凝胶的生物相容性。通过 3D X 射线显微断层扫描对 DN 干凝胶的微结构分析表明存在尺寸范围为 30-40 μm 的定向孔。据我们所知，显微断层扫描是首次用于研究 DN 凝胶。这些水凝胶可用于开发能够承受长期压力并延长植入物寿命的植入物。显微断层扫描首次用于研究 DN 凝胶。这些水凝胶可用于开发能够承受长期压力并延长植入物寿命的植入物。显微断层扫描首次用于研究 DN 凝胶。这些水凝胶可用于开发能够承受长期压力并延长植入物寿命的植入物。