Abstract

AbstractThe design of novel biomaterials for applications in biological recognition, drug delivery, or diagnostics requires a judicious choice of preparation conditions and methods for the production of well‐characterized 3‐dimensional structures, preferably by benign processes. In this work, the polymerization of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) methacrylates was examined by kinetic gelation modeling and kinetic analysis in order to ascertain the factors affecting the resulting structure. The kinetics of the polymerization and structure of the final polymer network are strongly affected by the length of the PEG graft chain. The propagation of the polymer chains becomes increasingly diffusion limited with the incorporation of longer PEG grafts. In addition, a more heterogeneous network consisting of numerous microgel regions is produced as the length of the PEG graft is increased. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 3506–3519, 2003

Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.