One‐step formation of polyurea gel as a multifunctional approach for biological and environmental applications

Abstract

This work presents a facile one‐pot fabrication of polyurea (PU) organogels based on polyetheramine (PEO, Jeffamine ED‐2003) and a crosslinker hexamethylene diisocyanate trimer (HDI) which were subsequently used as a drug carrier to incorporate a curcumin hydrophobic molecule in aqueous conditions and for removal of an anionic pollutant in water. PU can be obtained in different shapes with easy control of film thickness with high transparency, flexibility and homogeneous dispersion of curcumin in the matrix. Due to the hydrophilic nature of PEO a high swelling degree was demonstrated by the PU gel. The phase separated domains and the temperature's influence on the system's structural order/disorder were examined by small‐angle X‐ray scattering, showing a more PU ordered system (interface between hard and soft segments) after decreasing the temperature to −90 °C. The presence of curcumin in the structure of PU was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared, photoluminescence and release studies. A highly efficient removal of Congo red dye from aqueous solution using PU as adsorbent was observed. Moreover, the effect of unloaded and curcumin‐loaded PU gels was evaluated on Schistosoma mansoni adult worms. Detailed in vitro cell viability experiments showed the biocompatibility of loaded and unloaded PU gels. The easy processability of the multifunctional PU shows that it has promising applications as transdermal and soft tissue implantable delivery devices for a large number of poorly water‐soluble drugs and as an efficient adsorbent for removal of organic dyes; it can also be used in the future in dermatological treatments against malignant melanoma. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry

Design of polyurea networks containing anticancer and anti‐inflammatory drugs for dual drug delivery purposes

“…Isocyanate groups are considerably toxic and moisture sensitive, thus isocyanate free polyureas is now attracting research interest due to its potential application in different areas such as optics, environment and health. The isocyanate HDI crosslink presents an intense band at 2266 cm −1 characteristic of N=C=O asymmetric stretching as reported in the literature 28 . The PUr xerogel IR spectrum (Figure 1 black line), show the absence of the N=C=O band revealing that the matrix is isocyanate‐free using the synthesis procedure.…”

“…This class of polyurea can be used to control the Nap and 5FU release separately, and release Nap/5FU simultaneously. Due to their physico‐chemical properties, biocompatibility, 28 easy‐shaping and stability, these xerogels could be fabricated as contact lenses, films and LED shapes which open up large perspectives to prepare multifunctional materials for health, optical, and environmental applications.…”

“…The polyurea xerogel was obtained via the sol–gel process as previously demonstrated in literature 27a,28 . To obtain the polyurea xerogel, tridentate ligand HDI was covalently bonded to the PEO (Jeffamine ED‐2003) by reaction of the isocyanate groups and the primary amino groups attached to the end of the polyether backbone of PEO.…”

Effect of mixing on the sequence structure of molecular chain and properties of copolyurea

“…[4][5][6] Therefore, it has been widely used as protective coatings for military structures, 7 building protection materials 8 and biocompatible gels. 9,10 Due to the diversity of monomer types and quantities, the molecular chain of polyurea has a variety of sequence structures, which directly determine their properties. Precisely controlled sequence structure is of great importance to create new polyurea materials from the academic and industrial aspects.…”

“…Linear polyurea is a thermoplastic polymer with urea bond (NHCONH) formed by the polyaddition reaction of diisocyanate and diamine, 1–3 which has excellent mechanical response properties, high thermal resistance, and biocompatibility 4–6 . Therefore, it has been widely used as protective coatings for military structures, 7 building protection materials 8 and biocompatible gels 9,10 …”