Tuning the Mechanical Properties of BIEE‐Crosslinked Semi‐Interpenetrating,Double‐Hydrophilic Hydrogels |
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Authors: | Georgia Papaparaskeva Chrysovalantis Voutouri Vasiliki Gkretsi Mariliz Achilleos Ivo Safarik Kristyna Pospiskova Triantafyllos Stylianopoulos Theodora Krasia‐Christoforou |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus;2. Biomedical Sciences Program, Department of Life Sciences, School of Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus;3. Department of Nanobiotechnology, Biology Centre, ISB, CAS, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic;4. Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic |
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Abstract: | Double‐hydrophilic, semi‐interpenetrating (semi‐IPN) hydrogels are synthesized by encapsulating hydrophilic polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) linear chains in structure‐defined 1,2‐bis‐(2‐iodoethoxy)ethane (BIEE)‐crosslinked (poly(2‐(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (pDMAEMA) hydrogels. A series of semi‐IPN double‐hydrophilic hydrogels are prepared in which the pDMAEMA/BIEE content is kept the same and only the PVP content is varied, from 0 up to 33 wt%. The mechanical properties of the water‐swollen hydrogels are experimentally evaluated under unconfined compressive loading conditions, while a nonlinear hyperelastic constitutive equation is used to predict their mechanical response. No significant difference is found in the mechanical response of the semi‐IPN PVP/pDMAEMA/BIEE hydrogel containing 5 wt% PVP compared to the pDMAEMA/BIEE analog, however, for greater loading percentages (15 and 33 wt% of PVP), the semi‐IPN hydrogels exhibit less stiffness/higher ductility. Furthermore, in vitro biocompatibility studies are carried out for the pDMAEMA/BIEE and the semi‐IPN PVP/pDMAEMA/BIEE, indicating that both the formulations exhibit no toxicity in cultured cells. |
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Keywords: | mathematical modeling semi‐interpenetrating hydrogels unconfined compression |
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