20.500.12556/RUL-171146 Engineering diffusivity in copper-alginate hydrogels via electrodeposition and modelling Copper-crosslinked alginate hydrogels present a promising platform for engineered membranes due to their tunable permeability, structural robustness, and biocompatibility. In this study, a quantitative framework was developed to control and predict solute transport through these hydrogels by combining electrodeposition synthesis with mechanistic modelling. Hydrogels were fabricated under varying current densities and deposition times, and their effective diffusion coefficients were experimentally determined using a custom two-chamber diffusion system with theophylline as a model solute. The results demonstrated a strong inverse dependence of diffusivity on both electrochemical parameters, reflecting increased cross-linking density and reduced mesh size. An empirical, power-law exponential correlation was established linking the effective diffusion coefficient to electrodeposition conditions. Fick’s second law was numerically solved for a three-domain (donor–hydrogel–acceptor) system using a finite difference scheme that incorporated interfacial mass transfer and partition coefficients. Simulated concentration profiles showed excellent agreement with experimental data, confirming the model’s predictive capability. This integrated experimental–computational approach enabled precise engineering of hydrogel membrane properties and offered a scalable strategy for process design in drug delivery, separation, and biointerface applications. copper-crosslinked hidrogels diffusion modelling electrodeposition drug delivery model-based design hidrogeli zamreženi z bakrom modeliranje difuzije elektrodepozicija dostava zdravil zasnovano načrtovanje true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2025-08-11 09:38:17 2025-08-11 09:38:19 2025-08-12 03:59:04 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 11 str. pt. A, art.122371 Vol. 320 15 Jan 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 2026-01-15 66.021:546.56:621.357.6 0009-2509 10.1016/j.ces.2025.122371 245318915 RAZ_Ambrozic_Rok_2026.pdf RAZ_Ambrozic_Rok_2026.pdf 1 2A5618491445CBCEC97CD3F654A0408E 4e3fc2fb122320775ed57850bb8ab6955496d7fb64b60dedbf3e333c200e6da7 7c3cdd50-7686-11f0-9328-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=214114 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0009250925011923 1 14093289-7686-11f0-9328-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=214113 Fakulteta za kemijo in kemijsko tehnologijo 0 0 0