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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Jul 25.
Published in final edited form as: J Mater Chem. 2011 Oct 14;21(38):14354–14366. doi: 10.1039/C1JM11372K

Table 1.

Summary of the main properties of natural and synthetic materials, from 2D to 3D materials, which are used in mechano-sensitivity studies. This includes their physical/mechanical and biochemical properties. Their main disadvantages and advantages are also given

PROPERTIES NATURAL SYNTHETIC
2D
▲
3D		 PEM-films PA gels
PDMS
IPN Composites
Fibrin
Collagen
Hyaluronan
Alginate		 PEG
Physical/mechanical properties - Viscoelasticity
- Physical architecture
- Porosity (nm to μm scale)
- Degradability (proteases)		 - Pure elasticity
- No physical architecture
- Small porosity
- Non biodegradabile (unless grafted with MMP peptides)
Biochemical properties - Non spectfic interactions (electrostatic, H-bonds)
- Specific (natural ligands)		 - Inertness
- Need grafting with ligands
Main disadvantage - Difficulty to decouple mechanics and chemistry - High swellability (for PEG)
- Stability over time
Main advantage - Biomimetism (natural presence in tissues) - Versatility of the control