Abstract
ABSTRACTThe hydrophilic polyurethane (PU) hydrogels have become attractive in the biomedical field for drug delivery. In this work 2, 4-2-isocyanic acid methyl ester (TDI), poly(ϵ-caprolactone) (PCL), and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) were used to prepare a prepolymer and then diethylene glycol (DEG) was used as a chain extender to prepare a novel hydrophilic polyurethane, TDI/PCL-PEG/DEG. The obtained PU hydrogels were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). By varying the ratio of PCL to PEG in the copolymer, modulations of hydrophilicity and drug release behavior were observed. FT-IR analysis confirmed the successful synthesis of the TDI/PCL-PEG/DEG hydrogels. The introduction of PEG into the PU hydrogels led to a porous structure. The water contact angle and swelling ratio results confirmed that the hydrophilicity increased with increasing amounts of the PEG segments. The introduction of PEG also increased the release rate of chloramphenicol, used as model drug, from the PU hydrogels.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
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
