No document available.
Abstract :
[en] Microgels are micro-sized polymer networks able to swell or shrink depending on the environment. They find applications in many fields such as for environmental purpose or especially in the biomedical field for tissue engineering or controlled drug-delivery applications. Indeed, the use of microgels allows a controlled and sustained release of an encapsulated active ingredient (AI), avoiding Burst release. This work aims at reporting on the solvent-free synthesis of well-defined hydrogel microparticles according to a free radical dispersion polymerization of hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) which confers environmentally benign features to the process2. For that purpose, a dedicated polymer surfactant has been designed by RAFT polymerization, i.e. poly(ethylene oxide-b-heptadecafluorodecyl acrylate)
diblock copolymer with a photocleavable group at the junction of both blocks and used as stabilizer for the HEMA dispersion polymerization in scCO2. The synthesis conditions (stabilizer concentration, temperature and CO2 pressure,…) adapted for the in situ encapsulation of an active ingredient have been studied. Then, the photocleavage of the fluorinated block of the polymer stabilizer allows the further swelling of the polyHEMA particles in water and the sustained release of the encapsulated active ingredient through the microgels. This eco-friendly process allowing the formation of well-defined hydrogel particles, showing a sustain release of their content is quite promising for a high scale microparticles production. Microgels are micro-sized polymer networks able to swell or shrink depending on the environment. They find applications in many fields such as for environmental purpose or especially in the biomedical field for tissue engineering or controlled drug-delivery applications. Indeed, the use of microgels allows a controlled and sustained release of an encapsulated active ingredient (AI), avoiding Burst release.
