Photocrosslinking of Polyglycidol and Its Derivative: Route to Thermoresponsive Hydrogels

• Published in: Photochemistry and photobiology Vol. 94; no. 1; pp. 52 - 60
• Main Authors: Utrata‐Wesołek, Alicja, Żymełka‐Miara, Iwona, Kowalczuk, Agnieszka, Trzebicka, Barbara, Dworak, Andrzej
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.01.2018
• Subjects: Benzophenone; Chlorides; Crosslinking; Gels; Hydrogels; Polymers; Swelling; Temperature; Trimethylammonium chloride
• ISSN: 0031-8655; 1751-1097
• DOI: 10.1111/php.12819

Hydrogels of biologically well‐tolerated, high‐molar‐mass polyglycidol (PGl) and its thermoresponsive derivative poly(glycidol‐co‐ethyl glycidyl carbamate) have been obtained by direct UV crosslinking in the solid state. Polymers with molar masses up to 1.45 × 106 g mol−1 were crosslinked in the presence of benzophenone or (4‐benzoylbenzyl)trimethylammonium chloride as photosensitizers. The photosensitizer concentration was varied from 2 to 10 wt%. The influence of polymer composition and photosensitizer type and amount on the crosslinking efficiency, swelling and temperature behavior of the obtained hydrogels was investigated. The photocrosslinking of PGl and poly(glycidol‐co‐ethyl glycidyl carbamate) led to hydrogels with swelling degrees up to 1700%. The swelling degrees of the hydrogels decreased with the increase of the environmental temperature indicating the thermoresponsive nature of gels. The swelling of obtained gels can be controlled by varying the composition of the copolymer precursor and by the network density. Using photocrosslinking technique, it is possible to obtain hydrogels based on high‐molar mass derivatives of polyglycidol, a polymer that is biocompatible and nontoxic. The hydrogels exhibit relatively high swelling degrees up to 1700%. The additional very interesting property of obtained hydrogels is their thermosensitivity, which depends upon the copolymer precursor composition and the network density. Thermoresponsive polymers and gels are of special interest as they can have many potential applications, for example in drug delivery, protein separation, biocatalyst immobilization or as a cell growth surfaces.