Mapping Spatially Heterogeneous and History-Dependent Hydrogel Mechanics Using Fluid-Driven Cyclic Shear
- 1Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
- 2University at Buffalo
Abstract
Soft porous materials in biological environments, such as the extracellular matrix, are frequently subjected to dynamic stresses transmitted by fluid motion, yet their internal deformation fields and microstructural evolution under repeated loading remain elusive. Here, we impose oscillatory shear on agarose hydrogels without solid contact by embedding a millimeter-scale gel block in a microfluidic channel and applying oscillatory pressure-driven flow over its exposed surface. Tracking fluorescent particles immobilized in the gel reveals a heterogeneous response: displacement increases toward the gel-fluid interface, whereas shear strain and shear rate are concentrated near the anchored base. Under oscillatory flow of constant amplitude and frequency, freshly prepared gels deform progressively less over successive cycles, whereas gels rested for 1 h after gelation maintain a nearly constant deformation amplitude. This temporal response is consistent with bulk rheometry showing increasing storage and loss moduli only in fresh gels. Gels matured under cyclic shear deform less than gels matured at rest for the same duration and, as confocal imaging shows, develop aligned fiber bundles not seen in gels matured at rest. These results show that hydrodynamic loading modulates post-gelation network maturation. This study also establishes this contact-free approach as a platform for studying the mechanics of soft porous materials under flow-induced deformation.
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BibTeX
@misc{kushwaha2026mapping,
title = {{Mapping Spatially Heterogeneous and History-Dependent Hydrogel Mechanics Using Fluid-Driven Cyclic Shear}},
author = {Pragya Kushwaha and Xuxiang Qian and Sangwoo Shin and Xin Yong},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15010084/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010084/v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Mapping Spatially Heterogeneous and History-Dependent Hydrogel Mechanics Using Fluid-Driven Cyclic Shear
AU - Pragya Kushwaha
AU - Xuxiang Qian
AU - Sangwoo Shin
AU - Xin Yong
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15010084/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010084/v1
AB - Soft porous materials in biological environments, such as the extracellular matrix, are frequently subjected to dynamic stresses transmitted by fluid motion, yet their internal deformation fields and microstructural evolution under repeated loading remain elusive. Here, we impose oscillatory shear on agarose hydrogels without solid contact by embedding a millimeter-scale gel block in a microfluidic channel and applying oscillatory pressure-driven flow over its exposed surface. Tracking fluorescent particles immobilized in the gel reveals a heterogeneous response: displacement increases toward the gel-fluid interface, whereas shear strain and shear rate are concentrated near the anchored base. Under oscillatory flow of constant amplitude and frequency, freshly prepared gels deform progressively less over successive cycles, whereas gels rested for 1 h after gelation maintain a nearly constant deformation amplitude. This temporal response is consistent with bulk rheometry showing increasing storage and loss moduli only in fresh gels. Gels matured under cyclic shear deform less than gels matured at rest for the same duration and, as confocal imaging shows, develop aligned fiber bundles not seen in gels matured at rest. These results show that hydrodynamic loading modulates post-gelation network maturation. This study also establishes this contact-free approach as a platform for studying the mechanics of soft porous materials under flow-induced deformation.
ER -