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The ζ‐potential and hydrodynamic size (dh) of nanoparticles (NPs) are systematically controlled by capping gold NPs (AuNPs) with polymers having different charges and treating them in NaCl solutions of diverse concentrations. Interactions between AuNPs in hydrogel are caused by chemical reactions induced by 1,4‐dithiothreitol. The effect of ζ‐potential is clear, as negatively charged AuNPs can be aggregated in neutral agarose gel, but the amount of aggregation is significantly affected by the magnitude of the negative surface charge on the AuNPs. However, all positively charged AuNPs show negligible aggregation in agarose gel with slightly negative polarity. The effect of dh on AuNP aggregation is different from that of ζ‐potential. Although AuNPs with small dh generally show more aggregation than those with large dh, the amount of AuNP capping layer is critical. Thus, the amount of polymer present on NP surface needs to be considered to investigate the effect of dh on AuNP aggregation. Through extended Derjaguin, Landau, Verwey, Overbeek (XDLVO) theory, it is shown that the charges of the AuNPs and the hydrogel, as well as the dh of the NPs, are related to electrostatic repulsion and steric hindrance, which affect AuNP aggregation in hydrogel. Chemical interaction of nanoparticles in hydrogel is significantly affected by their ζ‐potential and hydrodynamic size. The charges of nanoparticles and the hydrogel and the hydrodynamic size of the nanoparticles affect the interaction of nanoparticles in hydrogel via electrostatic repulsion and steric hindrance occurring between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydroxyapatite (HA) exhibits outstanding biocompatibility, bioactivity, osteoconductivity, and natural anti-inflammatory properties. Pure HA, ion-doped HA, and HA-polymer composites are investigated, but critical limitations such as brittleness remain; numerous efforts are being made to address them. Herein, the novel self-crystallization of a polymeric single-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (ssDNA) without additional phosphate ions for synthesizing deoxyribonucleic apatite (DNApatite) is presented. The synthesized DNApatite, DNA 1 Ca 2.2 (PO 4 ) 1.3 OH 2.1 , has a repetitive dual phase of inorganic HA crystals and amorphous organic ssDNA at the sub-nm scale, forming nanorods. Its mechanical properties, including toughness and elasticity, are significantly enhanced compared with those of HA nanorod, with a Young's modulus similar to that of natural bone., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)