Degradation of hydrolyzable hydrogel microspheres

This work aims to monitor the hydrolysis of microspheres made of synthetic degradable hydrogels. Well spherical microspheres incorporating hydrolyzable crosslinkers inside their structure were first synthesized by direct suspension polymerization. Their elastic properties evaluated prior to degradat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Soft matter 2013-01, Vol.9 (6), p.1929-1936
Main Authors: Nguyen, Van Nga, Vauthier, Christine, Huang, Nicolas, Grossiord, Jean-Louis, Moine, Laurence, Agnely, Florence
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bioengineering
Biomaterials
Crosslinking
Degradation
Elastic constants
Elastic modulus
Galenic pharmacology
Hydrogels
Hydrolysis
Life Sciences
Microspheres
Modulus of elasticity
Pharmaceutical sciences
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Summary:This work aims to monitor the hydrolysis of microspheres made of synthetic degradable hydrogels. Well spherical microspheres incorporating hydrolyzable crosslinkers inside their structure were first synthesized by direct suspension polymerization. Their elastic properties evaluated prior to degradation by a rheological method show that microspheres behave like nearly pure elastic material with an elastic modulus varying from 2 to 11 kPa according to their composition. The pH, swelling and rheological properties were used to follow microsphere modifications during hydrolysis. Results obtained over a period of 60 days revealed that microspheres were only partially degraded under the experimental conditions used. After this period, microspheres were highly swollen with a low elastic modulus (ranging from 0.17 to 0.83 kPa) compared to the starting material. The hydrolytic degradation rate could be tuned by modulating the crosslinking degree and the chemical structure of the degradable crosslinker included in the hydrogel network. Degradation of hydrolysable microspheres can be evaluated by means of a new rheological method. The degradation rate of the microspheres can be tuned by varying the crosslinking molar ratio and the nature of the hydrolysable crosslinking agent included in the hydrogel composing the microspheres.
ISSN:1744-683X
1744-6848
DOI:10.1039/c2sm27066h