G. Patras et al., Characterization of the pore structure of aqueous three-dimensional polyacrylamide gels with a novel cross-linker, ELECTROPHOR, 21(17), 2000, pp. 3843-3850
The properties of polyacrylamide hydrogels synthesized with a novel hexafun
ctional (three double bonds) cross-linker, hexahydro-1,3,5-triacryloyl-s-tr
iazine (la), was evaluated and compared to the currently used tetrafunction
al (two double bonds) crosslinker N,N-methylenebisacrylamide (Bis). A varie
ty of characterization techniques that require very little sample preparati
on and data handling were chosen and include polymerization temperature pro
files and conversions, water swelling, differential scanning calorimetry (D
SC), polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), Gradiflow(TM) electrophoret
ic separation process and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The alternati
ve use of la compared to Bis results in polyacrylamide gels with larger por
e sizes and a broad pore size distribution.