1. Could you explain the significance of your article to the non-specialist? 

Conventional hydrogels, e.g., polyacrylamide hydrogels obtained using N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide as a cross-linking agent, have some serious disadvantages arising from the random arrangement of cross-linking points. Their main disadvantage is lack of mechanical toughness. In this paper, we have prepared organic-inorganic hybrid hydrogels by free-radical polymerization of acrylamide using a rodlike polysiloxane having acrylamido groups as a new cross-linking agent. The compressive properties of these hybrid hydrogels were more superior than those of conventional hydrogels due to dispersing on nanometer-scale and rigidness of the cross-linking agent. 

2. What has motivated you to conduct this work? 

So far, an organic-inorganic hybrid hydrogel with mechanical toughness has been prepared using dispersed inorganic clay as a cross-linking agent. A clay is generally defined as a higher-ordered nanostructure which can disperse in solvents, such as water, to contribute to the superior characteristics of the resulting hydrogel. 

Since other inorganic materials, which define nanostructure and can be dispersed in nano-scale, have hardly been known, the variety of the organic-inorganic hybrid hydrogels has been restricted. Availability of new inorganic cross-linking agents promisingly introduces the additional development of new functions and applications of novel high performanced hybrid hydrogels. Thus, this motivates us to do this work. 

3. Where do you see this work developing in the future? 

We expect numerous applications for these hybrid hydrogels, because it is possible to introduce functional molecules due to existence of reactive amino groups in the hydrogels. For example, new biomaterials would be given by introduction of bio-functional groups, e.g., glyco-chains, into these hybrid hydrogels. As another example, these hybrid hydrogels could be used as new materials to immobilize unstable photo-functional molecules.