Fig. 3.
ALG-KHhydrogels are microstructured and show a heterogeneous stiffness distribution. A) Viscometry evaluation of ALG-KH and ALG-KL derivatives in comparison with ALG: (Ai) shear viscosity at 1 s−1 shear rate and (Aii) shear rate ramp. B) CryoSEM of ALG-KH hydrogels, showing distinct denser/loser regions. The inset (magnification of yellow-squared region) allows to distinguish smaller pores within the denser mesh. C) ALG-KH hydrogel discs (50/50 w/w ALG-KH/ALG): (Ci) the blend formulation allowed the production of transparent and stable ALG-KH hydrogels by ionic internal gelation; (Cii) stereomicroscope image showing ALG-KH hydrogels with microstructures. D) Surface mechanical properties obtained by static (effective Young Modulus, Eeff) and DMA (elastic, E′, and viscous, E″, components) microindentation measurements. The DMA graphs show individual measurements (dots) and average values (bar) for E′ and E″ corresponding to 3 individual discs (produced independently, 225 measurements for each disc). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)