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Water sorption properties of poly(ethyl acrylate‐co‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) macroporous hydrogels
Author(s) -
Vidaurre Ana,
Castilla Cortázar Isabel,
Meseguer José María
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
macromolecular symposia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.257
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1521-3900
pISSN - 1022-1360
DOI - 10.1002/masy.200351030
Subject(s) - materials science , methacrylate , chemical engineering , self healing hydrogels , ethyl acrylate , acrylate , biocompatibility , polymer chemistry , (hydroxyethyl)methacrylate , acrylonitrile , copolymer , polymerization , monomer , polymer , ethylene glycol dimethacrylate , sorption , adsorption , composite material , chemistry , methacrylic acid , organic chemistry , metallurgy , engineering
Synthetic porous hydrogels are becoming more and more important in the field of biomaterials. Different studies demonstrate that the porous structure promotes the colonisation of living cells and improves the biocompatibility of the implants. The macroporous structure allows not only the control of cellular ingrowth morphology but also the mechanical integration and the regulation of nutrient and hydraulic flow in the hydrogel. In this work poly(ethyl acrylate‐co‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PEA/PHEMA) copolymers were polymerized using 2% of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as cross‐linking agent and azoiso‐botyronitrile as initiator. Five samples were prepared with the EA/HEMA weight ratios of 75/25, 50/50, 25/75 and pure PEA and PHEMA polymers, obtaining different degrees of hydrophilicity. The macroporous structure was obtained by adding poly(acrylonitrile) fibres to the monomers. After polymerization the fibres were eliminated by dissolution in dimethyl formamide. The holes are cylinders of approximately 40μm diameter and are all, more or less, in the same direction, although they are not uniformly distributed. Water sorption isotherms and diffusion properties of the macroporous samples are compared with the samples without holes.