title: Development of high refractive ZnS/PVP/PDMAA hydrogel nanocomposites for artificial cornea implants.
abstract: A series of high refractive index (RI) ZnS/PVP/PDMAA hydrogel nanocomposites containing ZnS nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully synthesized via a simple ultraviolet-light-initiated free radical co-polymerization method. The average diameter of the ZnS NPs is ∼ 3 nm and the NPs are well dispersed and stabilized in the PVP/PDMAA hydrogel matrix up to a high content of 60 wt.% in the hydrogel nanocomposites. The equilibrium water content of ZnS/PVP/PDMAA hydrogel nanocomposites varied from 82.0 to 66.8 wt.%, while the content of mercaptoethanol-capped ZnS NPs correspondingly varied from 30 to 60 wt.%. The resulting nanocomposites are clear and transparent and their RIs were measured to be as high as 1.58-1.70 and 1.38-1.46 in the dry and hydrated states, respectively, which can be tuned by varying the ZnS NPs content. In vitro cytotoxicity assays suggested that the introduction of ZnS NPs added little cytotoxicity to the PVP/PDMAA hydrogel and all the hydrogel nanocomposites exhibited minimal cytotoxicity towards common cells. The hydrogel nanocomposites implanted in rabbit eyes can be well tolerated over 3 weeks. Hence, the high RI ZnS/PVP/PDMAA hydrogel nanocomposites with adjustable RIs developed in this work might potentially be a candidate material for artificial corneal implants.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, N1.2, 62 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637459, Singapore; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for the Green Preparation and Application of Functional Materials, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China.
authors.forename: Quanyuan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, N1.2, 62 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637459, Singapore.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, N1.2, 62 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637459, Singapore.
authors.forename: Mary B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Chan-Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130041, China. Electronic address: drwuhong@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, N1.2, 62 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637459, Singapore.
authors.forename: Dongan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, N1.2, 62 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637459, Singapore. Electronic address: rxu@ntu.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000178:Acrylamides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000327:Adsorption; D000818:Animals; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D003315:Cornea / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D016039:Corneal Transplantation; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D006801:Humans; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry*; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D011205:Povidone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D011817:Rabbits; D012029:Refraction, Ocular / Q000187:drug effects*; D013440:Sulfides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D034421:Sus scrofa; D013818:Thermogravimetry; D017967:Zinc Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000178:Acrylamides; D013440:Sulfides; D017967:Zinc Compounds; C429790:poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide); D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate; D011205:Povidone; C031238:zinc sulfide
keywords: Cornea implants; Hydrogel; Polymers; Refractive indices; ZnS nanoparticles