Organic chemical gardens of chitosan hydrogel develop upon injecting an acidic chitosan
solution into an alkaline solution. Besides complex and budding structures, tubular
hydrogel formations develop that exhibit periodic surface patterns. The underlying
wrinkling instability is identified by its characteristic wavelength dependence on
the diameter of the elastic material formed. The flow-driven conditions allow precise
control over the structure that can help the design of soft bio-inspired materials.
Our findings can also suggest a new direction in the field of chemobrionics.
