Introduction
Pluronic f-127 is very viscous material with interesting properties that is been used in bioprinting. Pluronic hydrogel is relatively expensive material, costing $100 for a 100 ml container. This page is aimed to explain the fabriaction of this hydrogel in few steps.
Equipment or Bill of Materials
- Pluronic powder 250 grams for $52
- Ice
- Hot Plate
Operation & Procedure
- DIW is measured and stored in 4 C for couple of hours in a beaker.
- 40% weight of the pluronic powder is measured.
- The DIW is put in a container of ice cubes ( ice packs) and a magnetic bar is added to the beaker.
- The ice bath with the beaker is put on the hot plate and the hotplate is set to stir at 700 rpm.
- Pluronic powder is gradually added to the beaker.
- The Ice bath temperature is controlled by keep adding ice to the bath till the pluronic powder is fully dissolved. Depending on the initial DIW volume, this may take hours.
- Finally, hydrogel is stored at refrigerator where it will be in form of liquid. After bringing back to the room temperature, it will start to return to the form a viscous hydrogel.