Table 1. Fractional Factorial Design Parameters for PAAm Hydrogels.
Parameters examined for initial PAAm network synthesis included: whether or not glass plates were siliconized; the initiator to total monomer molar ratio; the percentage of total monomer that was crosslinker; and acrylamide concentration used in the prepolymer solution.
| Level | Siliconized | Initiator / Monomer mol Ratio |
MBAAmmol % |
AAm Conc. (g/mL) |
|
| Low (−1) | No | 0.0015 | 0.35 | 0.20 | |
| Center (0) | N/A | 0.0025 | 0.50 | 0.27 | |
| High (+1) | Yes | 0.0035 | 0.65 | 0.33 | |
| Formulation | Siliconized | Initiator / Monomer mol Ratio |
MBAAmmol % |
AAm Conc. (g/mL) |
Max RSM in DI Water |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | −1 | −1 | 13.15 +/− 0.18 |
| 2 | −1 | 1 | −1 | 1 | 9.44 +/− 0.15 |
| 3 | −1 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 10.85 +/− 0.14 |
| 4 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.54 +/− 0.58 |
| 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.29 +/− 0.16 |
| 6 | 1 | −1 | 1 | −1 | 12.06 +/− 1.21 |
| 7 | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 | 14.14 +/− 0.24 |
| 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7.85 +/− 0.06 |
| 9 | 1 | −1 | −1 | 1 | 9.29 +/− 0.34 |
| 10 | −1 | −1 | 1 | 1 | 7.66 +/− 0.45 |