New polyelectrolyte hydrogels for biomedical applications

Copolymerisation of charged and neutral monomers is a well-tested strategy to introduce charged moieties in a polymeric chain and obtain polyelectrolyte polymers. We have synthesized new cationic and anionic polyelectrolytes by bulk radical copolymerisation of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate with [2-methacryloyloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium chloride (METAC)] or [2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane-sulphonic acid (AMPS)] monomers. The chemical structure of the synthesized copolymers was confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy. Swelling studies on synthesized copolymers showed a high water content in the swollen state and a "smart behaviour" upon changes in external stimuli (pH and ionic strength). Cytotoxicity and cytocompatibility studies demonstrated that synthesized materials were not toxic. Moreover, the cationic copolymer showed good cell adhesion, whereas the anionic copolymer showed poor cell adhesion on its surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed that the disparate behaviour was due to the chemical nature of charged groups on the copolymer surfaces. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.