The Polymer Society of Korea

Hydrogels are promising materials for biomedical applications like drug delivery and tissue engineering. This study utilized Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) simulations to investigate how the distribution of PLGA monomers impacts the thermoresponsive properties of PLGA-PEG-PLGA hydrogels, focusing on sol-gel transition and micelle formation behaviors. Simulations revealed that both block and random PLGA sequence types formed 3D networks from dispersed micelles as polymer concentration increased. However, the random sequence exhibited a higher sol-gel transition concentration. This was attributed to its less efficient micelle formation and aggregation. Furthermore, block sequences formed well-defined micelles, whereas random ones displayed structures with energetically unfavorable crowding. These findings highlight the critical role of PLGA monomer arrangement in hydrogel physicochemical properties, offering insights for precise biomaterial design.