Modified Hydrogels Based on Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) with Higher Surface Wettability and Mechanical Properties

Eunsun Seo; Santosh Kumar; Junghyun Lee; Jihye Jang; Ji Hoon Park; Min Cheol Chang; Inchan Kwon; Jae-Suk Lee; Yang-il Huh

Macromolecular Research, Vol.25, No.7, 704-711, July, 2017

DOI10.1007/s13233-017-5068-y Export Citation

Modified Hydrogels Based on Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) with Higher Surface Wettability and Mechanical Properties

Eunsun Seo, Santosh Kumar¹, Junghyun Lee, Jihye Jang, Ji Hoon Park, Min Cheol Chang, Inchan Kwon¹, Jae-Suk Lee^{1, †}, and Yang-il Huh^†

Department of Polymer Engineering, Chonnam National University, 77, Yongbong-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61186, Korea
¹School of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwangju 61005, Korea

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Soft contact lenses made with poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) hydrogels modified with various comonomers such as N-vinyl pyrrolidone, methacrylic acid, glycidyl methacrylate, and glycerol monomethacrylate were prepared to investigate the effect of adding the comonomer on the water content, surface wettability, and tensile modulus. These polymers were synthesized by the free radical polymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) with the comonomers in the presence of divinyl benzene used as the crosslinker and azobisisobutyronitrile as the initiator. The chemical structure and transmittance of the hydrogels were analyzed by FTIR and UV/Vis spectrophotometers. The surface wettability and tensile modulus were also studied by measuring the contact angle and tensile modulus with a universal testing machine (UTM). Regarding the properties of water in the hydrogels, the ratio between free to bound water was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). As the concentration of crosslinker in the hydrogels increases, the tensile strength also increases, whereas the internal water content and contact angle decrease. The effect of the comonomer composition of the hydrogels was also investigated to optimize the various properties of these comonomers for soft contact lenses.

Keywords:poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA);hydrogel;soft contact lenses;surface wettability

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[Referenced By]

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[1] Casadio YS, Brown DH, Chirila TV, Kraatz HB, Baker MV, Biomacromolecules, 11(11), 2949 (2010)

[2] Chirila TV, Chen YC, Griffin BJ, Constable IJ, Polym. Int., 32, 221 (1993)

[3] Elisseeff J, Nat. Mater., 7(4), 271 (2008)

[4] Dusek K, Somvarsky J, Polym. Int., 44, 225 (1997)

[5] Dusek K, Smrckova MD, Somvarsky J, Macromol. Symp., 358, 120 (2015)

[6] Kopecek J, Biomacromolecules, 28, 5185 (2007)

[7] Uzum OB, Kundakci S, Durukan HB, Karadag E, J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 105(5), 2646 (2007)

[8] Janacek J, Ferry FD, J. Polym. Sci. A: Polym. Chem., 10, 345 (1972)

[9] Mabilleau G, Stancu IC, Honore T, Legeay G, Cincu C, Basle MF, Chappard D, J. Biomed. Mater. Res., 77A, 35 (2006)

[10] Garrett Q, Laycock B, Garrett RW, Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., 41, 1687 (2000)

[11] Peppas NA, Moynihan HJ, Lucht LM, J. Biomed. Mater. Res., 19, 397 (1985)

[12] Wichterle O, Lim D, Nature, 185, 117 (1960)

[13] Gordon SI, US Patent 4123407 (1978).

[14] Liu P, Xie Z, Zheng F, Zhaoa Y, Gu Z, J. Mater. Chem., 4, 5222 (2016)

[15] Refojo MF, in Contact Lenses: The CLAO Guide to Basic Science and Clinical Practice, Water imbibition Dabezies, OH, Eds. Grune and Stratton, New York, 1991, pp 1-4.

[16] Maldonado-Codina C, Efron N, Optometry in Practice, 4, 101 (2003)

[17] Tasaka M, Suzuki S, Ogawa Y, Kamaya M, J. Membr. Sci., 38, 175 (1998)

[18] Ostrowska-Czubenko J, Gierszewska-Druzynska M, Carbohydr. Polym., 77, 590 (2009)

[19] Tanaka M, Mochizuki A, J. Biomed. Mater. Res., 68, 684 (2004)

[20] Baker KF, Cattiaux J, in Thermal Analysis High Sensitivity Determination of Clustered Water in Polyethylene by Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Du Pont Company Paris, 1977.

[21] Tranoudis I, Efron N, Cont Lens Anterior Eye, 27, 177 (2004)

[22] Garcia-Millan E, Koprivnik S, Otero-Espinar F, J. Int. J. Pharm., 487260, 260 (2015)

[23] Goda T, Watanabe J, Takai M, Ishihara K, Polymer, 47(4), 1390 (2006)

[24] Tranoudis I, Efron N, Cont Lens Anterior Eye, 27, 193 (2004)