2-methacryloyloxyethyl N-butylcarbamate: a new co-monomer for synthesis of polyurethane hydrogels with improved mechanical properties for biomedical applications.
Hydrogels with tunable hydrophilic and mechanical properties were synthesized by the free radical polymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and 2-methacryloyloxyethyl N-butylcarbamate. The resulting hydrogels were investigated for their equilibrium water content, sessile drop water contact angles, gel fraction, mechanical properties and protein adsorption. Results indicated that co-polymer hydrogels have good hydrophilicity and that, with the incorporation of the 2-methacryloyloxyethyl N-butylcarbamate, mechanical properties could be improved significantly. without affecting other important properties. Lysozyme and albumin adsorption experiments demonstrated that, similar to most hydrogel materials, the co-polymer hydrogels adsorb more lysozyme than albumin and that the adsorption was dependent on hydrophilicity. The control poly(HEMA) hydrogels were found to adsorb more protein than the co-polymer hydrogels; this is thought to be primarily a consequence of protein absorption rather than protein adsorption.
Mequanint
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Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton ON, L8S 4L7, Canada.
Sheardown
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D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D011102:Polyhydroxyethyl Methacrylate / Q000737:chemistry*; D011140:Polyurethanes / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013718:Tensile Strength; D014520:Urethane / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry*
D020100:Hydrogels; D011140:Polyurethanes; D011102:Polyhydroxyethyl Methacrylate; D014520:Urethane