SPP 1259:  Intelligent Hydrogels

Hydrogels are three-dimensional polymer networks. They are able to absorb an amount of water which is many times bigger than their own weight. Because of that fact they can be very often found in nature, e.g. in plant or animal tissues. But they are also gaining increasing importance for applications in various other fields, like in chemical engineering, biotechnology, and for medical applications. They are already well-known for applications as so-called superabsorbers in diapers or as contact-lens material. However, hydrogels can not only retain water but they also have the potential to act as intelligent materials.
By absorbing or desorbing water under specific conditions, they are able to swell or shrink in aqueous media due to changes of the environment. Thus they can respond to even small changes in temperature, in pH-value, in the concentration of target substances, of an electrical field, of pressure or to light. For that reason they are also called "smart" or "intelligent" material. The ability to react on changes in the environment makes them interesting materials for a lot of new and innovative applications: controlled-release systems for medical drugs; specific sensors for changes in temperature, concentration or pH; mechanical actors; micro valves; and many others.
To forward the applicability of hydrogels, the aim of this Priority Programme is to investigate the relationship of chemical and physical properties of the gels on the one hand and their material quality on the other hand. Moreover, strategies will be developed which allow the application-oriented synthesis of hydrogels.

DFG Programme Priority Programmes

• Bifunktionale core-shell Partikel mit anorganischem porösem Kern und "intelligenter" Hydrogel-Hülle (Applicant Stock, Norbert )
• Coatings with "Inverse Switching" Behavior: New Applications of Core-Shell Hydrogel Particles (Applicant Stamm, Manfred )
• Coatings with "Inverse Switching" Behaviour: New Applications of Core-Shell Hydrogel Particles (Applicant Stamm, Manfred )
• Diffusion in Hydrogelen (Applicant Sadowski, Gabriele )
• Effect of geometrical confinement on structure and volume phase transition of stimuli-responsive microgels at interfaces (Applicant von Klitzing, Regine )
• Effects of magnetic and electric fields, mechanical stress on the conformational state and release behavior of the composite gels with embedded colloid particles (Applicant Khokhlov, Alexei R. )
• Engineering the mobility in hydrogel films (Applicant Koynov, Ph.D., Kaloian )
• Entwicklung responsiver Hydrogele durch Self-Assembly von niedermolekularen Hydrogelatoren (Applicant Schmidt, Hans-Werner )
• Experimentelle und theoretische Untersuchungen zum Phasengleichgewicht bei der Quellung von IPAAm-Hydrogelen in wässrigen Lösungen (Applicant Maurer, Gerd )
• Experimentelle und theoretische Untersuchungen zum Phasengleichgewicht bei der Quellung von IPAAm-Hydrogelen in wässrigen Lösungen (Applicant Hasse, Hans )
• Funktionalisierte Hydrogele fur die Multi-Analyt Biosensorik (Applicant Knoll, Wolfgang )
• Hydrogele als aktive Trägerpartikel für Katalysatoren (Applicant Ballauff, Matthias )
• Intelligente Hydrogele durch strahleninduzierte Polymerisation mizellarer Monomerlösungen und Mikroemulsionen. (Applicant Tieke, Bernd )
• Koordinatorprojekt für den Schwerpunkt 1259 Intelligente Hydrogele (Applicant Sadowski, Gabriele )
• Mikroheterogene und Mikroporöse Hydrogele mit verbesserter mechanischer Stabilität (Applicant Groll, Jürgen )
• Modeling and simulation of hydrogel swelling under strong non-equilibrium conditions using the phase-field and phase-field crystal methods (Applicant Emmerich, Heike )
• Numerische und experimentelle Untersuchung des gekoppelten chemo-elektro-mechanisch, visko-hyperelastischen Verhaltens von Hydrogelen für Aktor- und Sensoranwendungen (Applicants Gerlach, Gerald ;  Wallmersperger, Thomas )
• pH- und temperaturinduzierte Selbstorganisation von bis- und tris-hydrophilen Polymeren und Hybridpartikeln zu Hydrogelen (Applicant Müller, Axel )
• Responsive Nanogele aus definierten synthetisch-biologischen Hybridbausteinen (Applicant Schmidt, Manfred )
• Statistische Mechanik zum statischen und dynamischen Verhalten von Hydrogelen unter externen Einflüssen (Applicant Vilgis, Thomas A. )
• Struktur und Kinetik stimuli-responsiver, dünner Hydrogelfilme aus amphiphilen Blockcopolymeren (Applicants Laschewsky, André ;  Müller-Buschbaum, Peter ;  Papadakis, Christine M. )
• Synthese, Modellierung und Applikationsdemonstration von magnetisch modifizierbaren Hydrogelen (Applicant Berensmeier, Sonja )
• Synthese und Charakterisierung von neuartigen magnetoresponsiven Hydrogelen (Applicant Schmidt, Annette M. )
• Synthese und Eigenschaften strukturierter Hydrogele mit schaltbarer Heterogenität (Applicant Richtering, Walter )
• Synthese und ortsaufgelöste Analyse der Quelldynamik von steuerbaren, strukturierten Hydrogelen: Neue Materialien für Mikro- und Nanosensorik sowie Aktorik (Applicants Mang, Thomas ;  Stapf, Siegfried )
• Untersuchungen zum Einfluss des Ouellverhaltens auf den Stofftransport in Hydrogelen (Applicant Kind, Matthias )
• Untersuchungen zum Separationsmechanismus zwischen Elektrolyten und Hydrogelen durch externe Stimuli; Simulation und Experimente (Applicants Holm, Christian ;  Wilhelm, Manfred )
• Untersuchungen zur Steuerung der Struktur/Eigenschafts-Beziehung von intelligenten PNIPAM-Copolymer-Mikrogelen und Mikrogel-Nanopartikel-Kompositen (Applicant Hellweg, Thomas )

Spokesperson Professorin Dr. Gabriele Sadowski