06 Jun Poly(HEMA)
Product of the month | June 2023
Our product of the month is the homopolymer of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (SP-4P-3-004) also called poly(HEMA) or pHEMA.
This methacrylic polymer bears pending hydroxyl groups conferring hydrophilic properties to the polymer that can be used to form hydrogels. With better mechanical properties than natural hydrogels but also good biostability, Poly(HEMA) based hydrogels are used in several applications with advanced material technologies such as contact lenses, drug delivery systems… [1]
In terms of reactivity, Poly(HEMA) can be chemically modified by functionalization of the hydroxyl groups with acrylates group, silane linkers…. to lead to grafted nanoparticles [2][3].
The poly(HEMA) can also react by Ring Openig Polymerisation (ROP) with several cyclic monomers such as ε-Caprolactone (CL), γ-valerolactone (VL) or by Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP) with styrene or (meth)acrylate monomers after grafting ATRP initiator moieties onto the hydroxyl groups. [4]
Our poly(HEMA) is synthesized by free-radical polymerization leading to a molecular weight Mn of 25 000 – 40 000 g/mol and a polydispersity index of [3-4] (SEC data).
References
[1a] Dargaville, B.L., Hutmacher, D.W., Water as the often neglected medium at the interface between materials and biology. Nat Commun 13, 4222 (2022) >
[1b] Xu, Sijia et al., Force-induced ion generation in zwitterionic hydrogels for a sensitive silent-speech sensor, Nature Communications, 14(1), 219 (2023) >
[1c] P. Yang Wong et al., A Novel Antimicrobial Hydrogel for the Management of Periodontal Diseases, International dental journal, 73(3), 354-361 (2023) >
[2] K. Sepideh et al., Preparation of Janus-type superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles modified with functionalized PCL/PHEMA via photopolymerization for dual drug delivery. J Appl Polym Sci. ,138:e49627 (2020) >
[3] N. ÖZTÜRK ATAY et al., Study of silanized nanostructures with immobilized fumarase for production of L-malate, Turkish Journal of Chemistry: Vol. 46: No. 5, Article 27 (2022) >
[4] W. Xiao et al.,One-Shot synthesis of heterografted brush copolymers through orthogonal Ring-Opening polymerization and atom transfer radical polymerization, European Polymer Journal, 2021 (160), 110785 >
Don’t miss out on the latest SPECIFIC POLYMERS news
Being part of the SPECIFIC POLYMERS community signifies that you will benefit from:
The latest advance on various topics you are interested in
A direct access to a variety of publications & articles
A strategic monitoring of your line of business
Our latest news on innovative products, concepts & solutions
And much more.