• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.57-62
• /
• 1991

ABA type block copolymers composed of poly($\gamma-benzyl$ L-glutamate) (PBLG) as the A component and poly (ethylene glycol) as the B component were obtained by polymerization of $\gamma-benzyl$ L-gletamate N -carboxyanhydride, initiated by amino groups at both ends of poly(ethylene glycol) . From circular dichroism measurements in ethylene dichloride solution as well as from infrared spectTa measurements in solid state, it was found that the polypep- tide block exists in the a-helical conformation, as in PBLG homopolymer. $Poly-N^5$ (3-hydroxypropyl glutamine) (PHPG)/poly(ethylene glycol)block copolymer hydrogel was obtained by the treatment of PBLG/PBG block copolymer with the mixture of 3-ammine-1-propanol and diamlnooctane. The water content of PHPG/PEG block copolymer hydrogel was about 80wt% when the concentration of crosslinking agent was below 5 mole % per polymer.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.5 no.3
• /
• pp.104-108
• /
• 1984

The self-diffusion experiment of THO was performed across a series of copolymer hydrogel membranes at different temperatures. Copolymer hydrogel membranes were prepared by copolymerizing 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and 2-aminoethyl methacrylate (AEMA) in the presence of the solvent and the crosslinker, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA). By changing the crosslinker content and the ratio of HEMA and AEMA monomer, two series of copolymer hydrogel membranes were synthesized. The tagging material was THO and efflux of THO was counted on a Liquid Sc-intillation Counter. The experimental data show that the permeability decreases as the amount of EGDMA and the mole fraction of HEMA increase, and the permeability is proportional to the temperature. The partition coefficient shows a parallel trend with permeability. Using the relationship between viscosity and diffusivity, the viscosity of water within the membrane was obtained. According to the result, the viscosity of watler within the membrane has the same value with those of supercooling water. And we obtained the activation energy of THO for transport in the membrane by using Arrhenius plotting.

• Macromolecular Research
• /
• v.17 no.5
• /
• pp.307-312
• /
• 2009

Core-shell hydrogel nanocomposite was fabricated by encapsulating a silica-gold nanoshell (SGNS) with poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) (PNIPAM-co-AAc) copolymer. The oleylamine-functionalized SONS was used as a nanotemplate for the shell-layer growth of hydrogel copolymer. APS (ammonium persulfate) was used as a polymerization initiator to produce a hydrogel-encapsulated SGNS (H-SGNS). The amounts of NIPAM (N-isopropylacrylamide) monomers were optimized to reproduce the hydrogel-encapsulated SGNS. The shell-layer thickness was increased with the increase of polymerization time and no further increase in the shell-layer thickness was clearly observed over 16 h. H-SGNS exhibited the systematic changes of particle size corresponding to the variation of pH and temperature, which was originated from hydrogen-bonding interaction between PNIPAM amide groups and water, as well as electrostatic forces attributed by the ionization of carboxylic groups in acrylic acid.

• Macromolecular Research
• /
• v.16 no.6
• /
• pp.517-523
• /
• 2008

A RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp) conjugated chitosan hydrogel was used as a cell-supporting scaffold for articular cartilage regeneration. Thermosensitive chitosan-Pluronic (CP) has potential biomedical applications on account of its biocompatibility and injectability. A RGD-conjugated CP (RGD-CP) copolymer was prepared by coupling the carboxyl group in the peptide with the residual amine group in the CP copolymer. The chemical structure of RGD-CP was characterized by $^1H$ NMR and FT IR. The concentration of conjugated RGD was quantified by amino acid analysis (AAA) and rheology of the RGD-CP hydrogel was investigated. The amount of bound RGD was $0.135{\mu}g$ per 1 mg of CP copolymer. The viscoelastic parameters of RGD-CP hydrogel showed thermo-sensitivity and suitable mechanical strength at body temperature for cell scaffolds (a> 100 kPa storage modulus). The viability of the bovine chondrocyte and the amount of synthesized glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) on the RGD-CP hydrogels were evaluated together with the alginate hydrogels as a control over a 14 day period. Both results showed that the RGD-CP hydrogel was superior to the alginate hydrogel. These results show that conjugating RGD to CP hydro gels improves cell viability and proliferation, including extra cellular matrix (ECM) expression. Therefore, RGD conjugated CP hydrogels are quite suitable for a chondrocyte culture and have potential applications to the tissue engineering of articular cartilage tissue.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
• /
• v.33 no.6
• /
• pp.372-376
• /
• 1989

Equilibrium swelling and pH-sensitivity of a polyelectrolyte copolymer hydrogel were controlled by employing copolymers with different hydrophilic-hydrophobic balances. Model pH-sensitive hydrogels, e.g., poly(methacrylic acid), poly(methacrylic acid-co-acrylamide), poly(methacrylic acid-co-2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate), poly(methacrylic acid-co-styrene) were synthesized at various monomer compositions. As hydrophobicity of the copolymer hydrogels increased, the equilibrium swelling decreased while the pH-sensitivity increased. In the case of poly(methacrylic acid-co-acrylamide), polymer-polymer interaction significantly affected the equilibrium swelling and provided a wide range control of pH-sensitivity.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.224-230
• /
• 1995

Recently, many attempts have been made to use hydrogels of various polymers as delivery systems of various drugs and bioactive materials to prolong and control their phamacological activities. In this study, we have evaluated the physico-chemical properties of methacrylic acid-methyacrylic acid methyl ester copolymer 9Eudispert mv)m a acrylic resin hydorgel, and its application to transdermal delivery system. In the dissolution tests, the release rate of salicylic acid (SA) and sodium salicylate (SOd. SA) were faster than lidocain (LD) and lidocain-HCl(LD-HCl). As the concentration of Eudispert mv polymer increased, the extensibility of Eudispert mu hydrogel decreased, whereas the swelling ratio increased. The more NaOH and polymer concentration increased, the more osmotic pressure linearly increased. The skin permeation of Sod. SA, an acidic model drug, was remarkably enhanced by Eudispert mv hydrogel. All fatty acids, except for Sod. glycolate, dramatically increased the skin permeation flux in Eudispert mu hydrogel containing LD-Hcl, a basic model drug. Consequently, it is suggested that Eudispert mv hydrogel may be used as potential transdermal delivery vehicle.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.38 no.5
• /
• pp.626-631
• /
• 2014

Water purification requires a large amount of energy that can cause pollution problems. For this reason, forward osmosis (FO) has attracted intense interest that required a relatively low amount of energy for water purification. The forward osmosis has a serious problem that it needs drawing agents creating osmotic pressure to extract water from contaminated water. In this study, a copolymer of zwitterionic moiety and an interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) hydrogel based on thermo-responsive polymer hydrogel, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) were prepared and attached on FO membranes, which successfully played the role of drawing agents. In the copolymer hydrogel, its swelling ratio was improved, but thermo-sensitivity was decreased. The swelling ratio and thermo-sensitivity of IPN hydrogel was lowered. We could confirm that swelling ratio is related to osmotic pressure.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.173-178
• /
• 1989

Drug release rates from copolymer hydrogels were controlled by their hydrophilic-hydrophobic balances. As a model copolymer hydrogel, poly(acrylamide-co-styrene) was synthesized at different monomer composition. Release mechanisms of propranolol-HCI from the copolymer matrices were investisated. Swelling rates of the copolymer hydrogels retarded as their hydrophobicity increased. Swelling kinetics of the copolymer hydrogels regulated drug release rates via polymer relaxation controlled release mechanisms. Zero order drug release could thus be achieved within certain periods.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.11 no.6
• /
• pp.922-927
• /
• 2001

In an effort to regulate the mammalian cell behavior in entrapment with a gel, we have functionalized hydrogels with the putative cell-binding (-Arg-Gly-Asp-)(RGD) domain. An adhesion molecule of Gly-Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser (GRGDS) peptides, a cell recognition ligand, was induced into thermo-reversible hydrogels, composed of N-isopropylacrylamide with small amounts of acrylic acid (typically 2-5 $mol\%$ in feed), as a biomimetic extracellular matrix (ECM). The GRGDS containing a p(NiPAAm-co-AAc) copolymer gel was studied in vitro for its ability to promote the spreading and viability of cells by introducing a GRGDS sequence. Hydrogel with no adhesion molecule was a poor ECM for adhesion, permiting spreading of only $3\%$ of the seeded cells for 36h. By immobilizing the peptide linkage into the hydrogel, the conjugation of RGD promoted $50\%$ of proliferation for 36h. However, the GREDS sequence, nonadhesive peptide linkage, conjugated hydrogel showed only $5\%$ of the seeded cell for the same time period. In addition, with the serum-free medium, only GRGDS peptides conjugated to hydrogel was able to promotecell spreading, while there was no cell proliferation in the hydrogel without GRGDS. Thus, the GRGDS peptide-conjugated thermo-reversible hydrogel specifically mediated the cell spreading. This result suggests that utilization of peptide sequences conjugating with the cell-adhesive motifs can enhance the degree of cell surface interaction and influence the long-term formation of ECM in vitro.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.349-355
• /
• 2007

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylonitrile) [P(NIPAAm-co-AN)] copolymers with AN content of up to 10 mol% and their hydrogels were synthesized using water as a reaction medium, and the effects of AN unit incorporation on the critical gel transition temperature(CGTT) and swelling behaviors of the hydrogels were investigated. The CGTT of the copolymer hydrogel was $30{\sim}32\;^{\circ}C$, decreasing with increasing AN content. Below CGTT, swelling rate and equilibrium swelling ratio of the copolymer hydrogel decreased with increasing AN content. On the other hand, it exhibited faster deswelling and lower equilibrium deswelling ratio with increasing AN content above CGTT.