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Hydrophilic silicone hydrogels with interpenetrating network structure for extended delivery of ophthalmic drugs
Author(s) -
Wang Jingjing,
Liu Fang,
Wei Jun
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
polymers for advanced technologies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.61
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1099-1581
pISSN - 1042-7147
DOI - 10.1002/pat.2038
Subject(s) - self healing hydrogels , silicone , materials science , oxygen permeability , macromonomer , polymer chemistry , swelling , ethylene glycol , methacrylate , drug delivery , copolymer , polymerization , contact angle , radical polymerization , chemical engineering , drug carrier , composite material , organic chemistry , polymer , chemistry , oxygen , nanotechnology , engineering
In the current work, hydrophilic silicone hydrogels were prepared for extended drug delivery applications. The preparation method was based on sequential interpenetrating network synthesis. A hydrophilic network was prepared by radical copolymerization of hydrophilic monomers 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate and poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate. A hydrophobic silicone network was obtained by crosslinking polymerization of bifunctional methacrylated polydimethylsiloxanes macromonomer. The morphology of the silicone hydrogels was characterized by transmission electron microscopy. The result showed that the silicone hydrogels exhibited heterogeneous morphology. The properties of the silicone hydrogels such as equilibrium swelling ratio (ESR), mechanical property, oxygen permeability, contact angle, and protein repelling ability were investigated. Finally, the silicone hydrogels were loaded with timolol by pre‐soaking in drug solution to evaluate drug‐loading capacity and in vitro release behavior. The results showed that mechanical strength and oxygen permeability increased, and the ESR decreased with the increase of silicone component in the silicone hydrogels. The result of the contact angle measurement indicated that the silicone hydrogels possessed hydrophilic surfaces. The drug loading and in vitro releases were dependent on the composition of hydrophilic/hydrophobic phase of silicone hydrogels. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.