Synthesis of poly(oligo(ethylene glycol)methacrylate)‐functionalized membranes for thermally controlled drug delivery

Abstract

In this work a robust method for grafting thermoresponsive poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylates) (pOEGMA) macromolecules from polymeric porous membranes and silicon surfaces is presented. Hydrophilic track-etched polyester (PETE) membranes with submicrometer pore sizes and silicon dies were submitted to a plasma treatment, which successfully allowed the introduction of anchoring groups and further grafting of the initiator on the surface. The surface-initiated polymerization of OEGMA was carried out by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), yielding dense polymer brushes. Moreover, the temperature-controlled transport of caffeine through the functionalized membranes was demonstrated and the influence of the pore morphology and immobilized polymer layer thickness on the permeation profile was investigated.

Controlling the nanostructure and stability of a-C:H:N plasma polymers

“…Despite the inherent instability of amino-containing C:H:N films, such films have been investigated for different applications such as thermoresponsive PEGs enabling controlled drug release through membranes [42], hydroxyapatite growth for bone tissue regeneration procedures [43] as well as for improved adhesion in light-weight fiberreinforced composites [44,45]. A stabilization of the a-C:H:N films can thus be assumed when the amine groups have reacted with further applied molecules.…”

Considering the degradation effects of amino-functional plasma polymer coatings for biomedical application

“…While CO 2 /C 2 H 4 gas discharges have already been proven to support cell growth on electrospun poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds used for tissue engineering [5], we now investigate the ability of NH 3 /C 2 H 4 gas discharges for the same purpose. Such amino-functional plasma polymers were recently used as adhesion promoting layers in fiber-reinforced composites as well as on membranes to chemically attach thermoresponsive poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate) (pOEGMA) copolymers forming brushes [6,7]. After the chemical reaction the amino-functionalized plasma layers were found to be permanent [8].…”

ATRP-based synthesis and characterization of light-responsive coatings for transdermal delivery systems

“…Grafting of poly(oligo (ethylene glycol) methacrylates) on the surface of track etched membranes by surface initiated ATRP has recently been shown to create thermo-responsive membranes [22]. At low temperatures the polymers are swollen and the pores are blocked; when the temperature is increased, the polymer chains collapse resulting in more opened pores.…”

“…Thus, a thick coating is needed for the successful gating of a membrane by steric interaction. On the other hand, the layer should not be too large either, since otherwise no permeability change would be observed [22]. An alternative approach which has been reported in the literature is to change the hydrophilicity of a membrane by an external trigger; this effect leads to a reversed permeability change [17–19].…”