Self-healing pH-sensitive poly[(methyl vinyl ether)-alt-(maleic acid)]-based supramolecular hydrogels formed by inclusion complexation between cyclodextrin and adamantane

•P(MVE-alt-MA)-based supramolecular hydrogels can form by inclusion complexation between cyclodextrin and adamantane.•This kind of supramolecular hydrogels is self-healing and pH-sensitive.•This kind of supramolecular hydrogels can serve as a potential platform in biomedical research.

Self-healing materials are of interest for drug delivery, cell and gene therapy, tissue engineering, and other biomedical applications. In this work, on the base of biocompatible polymer poly(methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic acid) (P(MVE-alt-MA)), host polymer β-cyclodextrin-grafted P(MVE-alt-MA) (P(MVE-alt-MA)-g-β-CD) and guest polymer adamantane-grafted P(MVE-alt-MA) (P(MVE-alt-MA)-g-Ad) were first prepared. Then through taking advantage of the traditional host-guest interaction of β-cyclodextrin and adamantane, a novel self-healing pH-sensitive physical P(MVE-alt-MA)-g-β-CD/P(MVE-alt-MA)-g-Ad supramolecular hydrogels were obtained after simply mixing the aqueous solution of host polymer and guest polymer. This kind of supramolecular hydrogels not only possess pH-sensitivity, but also possess the ability to repair themselves after being damaged.

Graphical abstractSelf-healing pH-sensitive poly[(methyl vinyl ether)-alt-(maleic acid)]-based supramolecular hydrogels were prepared by inclusion complexation between cyclodextrin and adamantine. They may have high potential in biomedical applications.Download high-res image (115KB)Download full-size image