Impact of secondary reactive species on the apparent decoupling of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate hydrogel average mesh size and modulus

Inclusion of secondary reactive species (SRS) within PEGDA hydrogels results in shifts in the network modulus-mesh size curves, with the degree of shift increasing with decreasing PEGDA molecular weight. These shifts result in apparent “decoupling” between modulus and mesh size, allowing a number of modulus ranges to be examined at consistent average mesh size (or vice versa).184