Figure 5
Mechanical properties of the dc-ngCA-silk hydrogel. Digital photograph of the hydrogel response to (a) bending and (b) compression forces. (c) Digital photograph of the hydrogel undergoing ~60% compression. The hydrogel showed almost complete recovery after removal. (d) Representative compressive stress–strain curve of the hydrogel and (e) summarized compressive modulus as a function of compressive strain (***P<0.005; unpaired t-test). (f) Representative cyclic loading-unloading curves of the hydrogel for 20 consecutive cycles. (g) The decay of energy dissipation for the hydrogel with increasing compressive cycle numbers.
