Preparation and investigation of hydrolyzed polyacrylonitrile as a preliminary biomedical hydrogel.

Ji Hoon Park,Seung Hun Park,Bo Keun Lee,Kwideok Park,Ju Woong Jang,Guo Zhe Tai,Jung Soo Lee,Jae Ho Kim,Ja Yong Jang,Moon Suk Kim

doi:10.1186/s40824-015-0043-1

Abstract

BackgroundHydrolyzed polyacrylonitrile (HPAN) has attracted much attention as a hydrogel for a broad range of biomedical applications. Therefore, in this study, we prepared HPAN derivatives with controllable compositions by the radical polymerization of acrylonitrile (AN), methacrylic acid (MAA) and N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) monomers.ResultsThe prepared poly(AN-co-MAA-co-NIPAM) copolymers had different ratios of AN, MAA, and NIPAM and molecular weights ranging from 2000 to 50,000. The copolymers were prepared as films to examine their properties. The prepared copolymer films showed different solubilities, contact angles, and swelling ratios. The properties of the copolymer films were affected by the hydrophobic PAN segments and the hydrophilic PMAA or PNIPAM segments.ConclusionThus, we conclude that introducing PMAA and PNIPAM segments with different ratios and lengths into PAN segments could represent a method of controlling the hydrogel properties of copolymers.

Highlights

Hydrolyzed polyacrylonitrile (HPAN) has attracted much attention as a hydrogel for a broad range of biomedical applications
All copolymers were synthesized through the radical polymerization of the monomers AN, methacrylic acid (MAA), and NIPAM using the AIBM as an initiator
The poly(AN-co-MAA-co-NIPAM) copolymers were prepared with molecular weights ranging from 2000 to 50,000 using different ratios of AN, MAA, and NIPAM

Summary

Introduction

Hydrolyzed polyacrylonitrile (HPAN) has attracted much attention as a hydrogel for a broad range of biomedical applications. Results: The prepared poly(AN-co-MAA-co-NIPAM) copolymers had different ratios of AN, MAA, and NIPAM and molecular weights ranging from 2000 to 50,000. The prepared copolymer films showed different solubilities, contact angles, and swelling ratios. Hydrogels have been developed extensively for a broad range of biomedical applications [1, 2]. Most types of hydrogels can absorb large quantities of water relative to their initial weight because of their intrinsic hydrophilicity. Because of this propensity to retain large amounts of water, hydrogels can be used in biomedical applications in dehydrated and/or hydrated form.

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Results

Conclusion