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Bioerodible hydrogels based on 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate: Synthesis and characterization
Author(s) -
Chiellini Federica,
Petrucci Federica,
Ranucci Elisabetta,
Solaro Roberto
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.10799
Subject(s) - self healing hydrogels , polymer chemistry , ethylene glycol , methacrylate , materials science , polymerization , swelling , polymer , monomer , solvent , ethylene glycol dimethacrylate , chemical engineering , chemistry , organic chemistry , methacrylic acid , composite material , engineering
Biocompatible polymers with specific shape and tailored hydrogel properties were obtained by polymerization of mixtures of 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) with 1–8 wt % ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) or tetra(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (TEGDA) as crosslinking agents, by using a redox initiator. Introduction of charged positive and negative groups was easily achieved by direct polymerization of appropriate monomer mixtures and by chemical transformation of preformed hydrogels. Investigation of the swelling behavior of the prepared hydrogels evidenced an appreciable dependence on both solvent type and polymer chemical structure. Additionally, the solvation process resulted in being controlled by solvent diffusion, according to a Fickian II mechanism. The presence of several types of water with different melting behavior was observed in fully swollen hydrogels. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 85: 2729–2741, 2002