Abstract
Application-oriented hydrogel properties can be obtained by modifying the synthesis conditions of the materials. The purpose of this study is to achieve customized properties for sensing applications of hydrogel membranes based on poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate), HEMA and N,N-dimethylacrylamide, DMAa. Copolymer p(HEMA-co-DMAa) hydrogels were prepared by varying the DMAa monomer ratio from 0–100% in 20% increments. Hydrogel membranes were characterized by attenuated infrared spectroscopy. Swelling and sorption were evaluated using cation solutions. Copolymers were also synthesized on the gold surface of quartz crystal microbalances (QCM) as coating membranes. A proof of concept was conducted for approaching the design and development of QCM sensors based on P(DMAa-co-HEMA)-membranes. Results showed that the water and ion adsorption capacity of hydrogel membranes increased with higher DMAa content. Membranes are not selective to a specific location but did show different transport features with each cation. The QCM coated with the selected membrane presented linear relationships between resonance frequency and ions concentration in solution (10–120 ppm). As a consequence, hydrogel membranes obtained are promising for the development of future biosensing devices.
Highlights
Diagnostic testing provides critical insight to support decisions regarding treatment and referral to secondary care
Adsorption bands related to the vinyl C=C groups (~3100 cm−1 and 3020 cm−1 ) of monomers of dimethylacrylamide (DMAa) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) are absent in the final copolymer
The results obtained between the decay time constant (τ) and the %mol DMAa content showed that the DMAa present in the materials produce softer membranes and the Sauerbrey equation was not valid for concentrations higher than
Summary
Diagnostic testing provides critical insight to support decisions regarding treatment and referral to secondary care In this sense, the development of sensing platforms for diagnosis such as chemical sensors with high sensitivity, precision, selectivity, reproducibility, and low false positives, is a technological need that must be fulfilled. Biosensors are chemical sensors that provide direct information about the composition of their environment; and consist of a selective membrane or layer associated with a physical transducer [1]. This selective membrane involves some type of biological material as a biological recognition element (biochemical receptor) immobilized on or within it, providing sensitivity and selectivity [2,3,4]. Membranes have more than one function, they have been used extensively for; (i) immobilizing biomolecules and/or cofactors as ionophores, (ii) improving selectivity of the chemical sensor, (iii) controlling the enzyme kinetics, (iv) improving biocompatibility of the system, and (v) controlling electron transfer properties of the system [4,5,6,7,8]
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