TY - JOUR

T1 - Soft hydrogels interpenetrating silicone – a polymer network for drug releasing medical devices

AU - Steffensen, Søren Langer

AU - Merete H., Vestergaard,

AU - Møller, Eva Horn

AU - Jensen, Minna Grønning

AU - Alm, Martin

AU - Franzyk, Henrik

AU - Nielsen, Hanne Mørck

PY - 2016

Y1 - 2016

N2 - Materials for the next generation of medical devices will require not only the mechanical stability of current devices, but must also possess other properties such as sustained release of drugs in a controlled manner over a prolonged period of time. This work focuses on creating such a sophisticated material by forming an interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) material through modification of silicone elastomers with a poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA)-based hydrogel. IPN materials with a PHEMA content in the range of 13%–38% (w/w) were synthesized by using carbon dioxide-based solvent mixtures under high pressure. These IPNs were characterized with regard to microstructure as well as ability of the hydrogel to form a surface-connected hydrophilic carrier network inside the silicone. A critical limit for hydrogel connectivity was found both via simulation and by visualization of water uptake in approximately 25% (w/w) PHEMA, indicating that entrapment of gel occurs at low gel concentrations. The optimized IPN material was loaded with the antibiotic ciprofloxacin, and the resulting drug release was shown to inhibit bacterial growth when placed on agar, thus demonstrating the potential of this IPN material for future applications in drug-releasing medical devices.

AB - Materials for the next generation of medical devices will require not only the mechanical stability of current devices, but must also possess other properties such as sustained release of drugs in a controlled manner over a prolonged period of time. This work focuses on creating such a sophisticated material by forming an interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) material through modification of silicone elastomers with a poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA)-based hydrogel. IPN materials with a PHEMA content in the range of 13%–38% (w/w) were synthesized by using carbon dioxide-based solvent mixtures under high pressure. These IPNs were characterized with regard to microstructure as well as ability of the hydrogel to form a surface-connected hydrophilic carrier network inside the silicone. A critical limit for hydrogel connectivity was found both via simulation and by visualization of water uptake in approximately 25% (w/w) PHEMA, indicating that entrapment of gel occurs at low gel concentrations. The optimized IPN material was loaded with the antibiotic ciprofloxacin, and the resulting drug release was shown to inhibit bacterial growth when placed on agar, thus demonstrating the potential of this IPN material for future applications in drug-releasing medical devices.

U2 - 10.1002/jbm.b.33371

DO - 10.1002/jbm.b.33371

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 25892578

VL - 104

SP - 402

EP - 410

JO - Journal of Biomedical Materials Research - Part B Applied Biomaterials

JF - Journal of Biomedical Materials Research - Part B Applied Biomaterials

SN - 1552-4973

IS - 2

ER -