Synthesis, characterization and biodegradation of poly(ester amide)s based hydrogels

Abstract

A series of new biodegradable hybrid hydrogels were designed and fabricated from a new family of amino acid-based functional poly(ester amide) (PEA-AG) and commercial poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEG-DA) or Pluronic diacrylate (Pluronic-DA) by UV photocrosslinking. These biodegradable hybrid hydrogels were characterized in terms of equilibrium swelling ratio (Qeq), compression modulus by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and interior morphology by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Both the precursors’ chemical structures and feed ratio had significant effect on the properties of the hybrid hydrogels. All these hybrid hydrogels had a three-dimensional porous network structure. The hydrophobicity, crosslinking density and mechanical strength of the hybrid hydrogels increased with an increase in allylglycine (AG) content in the PEA-AG, but the swelling and pore size of the hybrid hydrogels decreased. The biodegradation rate of these hybrid hydrogels in an enzyme (α-chymotrypsin) solution was faster than in a pure PBS buffer control, and the biodegradation rate increased with an increase in α-chymotrypsin concentration and allylglycine content.