Development of semi- and grafted interpenetrating polymer networks based on poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate and collagen.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this work was to develop composite hydrogels based on poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) and collagen (Coll), potentially useful for biomedical applications.


METHODS
Semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (semi-IPNs) were obtained by photo-stabilizing aqueous solutions of PEGDA and acrylic acid (AA), in the presence of collagen. Further grafting of the collagen macromolecules to the PEGDA/poly(AA) network was achieved by means of a carbodiimide-mediated crosslinking reaction. The resulting hydrogels were characterized in terms of swelling capability, collagen content and mechanical properties.


CONCLUSIONS
The grafting procedure was found to significantly improve the mechanical stability of the IPN hydrogels, due to the establishment of covalent bonding between the PEGDA/poly(AA) and the collagen networks. The suitability of the composite hydrogels to be processed by means of stereolithography (SLA) was also investigated, toward creating biomimetic constructs with complex shapes, which might be useful either as platforms for tissue engineering applications or as tissue mimicking phantoms.
Department of Engineering for Innovation, University of Salento, Lecce - Italy.
Marta
M
Madaghiele
Francesco
F
Marotta
Christian
C
Demitri
Francesco
F
Montagna
Alfonso
A
Maffezzoli
Alessandro
A
Sannino
D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry*; D019245:Compressive Strength; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000737:chemistry; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry*; D006244:Hardness; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D008422:Materials Testing; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry*
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D020100:Hydrogels; C437167:poly(ethylene glycol)diacrylate; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D003094:Collagen