Rheology and mesoscopic structure-dynamics relations of hydrogels (A02)

• Subject Area: Experimental and Theoretical Physics of Polymers
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 431232613

In a combined experimental/theoretical approach we study the rheology, mesoscopic structure and dynamics of mucus-mimicking hydrogels with the aim of linking these properties and relating them to the molecular architecture of the hydrogels. Experimental structural data from various scattering techniques serves as an input for bottom-up models that account for polymeric degrees of freedom and network topology and predict frequency-dependent hydrogel viscoelasticities, which will then again be compared with experimental data. This approach will first be used for relatively simple hydrogel model systems and then for more complex hydrogels, thereby approaching the real situation in mucus.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1449: Dynamic Hydrogels at Biointerfaces
• Major Instrumentation: DWS RheoLabIII
• Applicant Institution: Freie Universität Berlin
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Michael Gradzielski; Professor Dr. Roland Netz