Hydrophilic Polymers Derived from Vitamin E

Abstract

Vitamin E containing copolymers for biomedical applications was obtained by copolymerization reaction of vitamin E methacrylate (VEMA) with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), N,N-dimethyl acrylamide (DMA) or vinyl pyrrolidone (VP), in different experiments. High molecular weight copolymers prepared by free radical reactions initiated by azobisisobutironitrilo, AIBN, present a random distribution of vitamin E derivatives along the macromolecular chains, and the average composition depends on the initial composition of the reaction medium. The relative flexibility of the polymeric systems was analyzed measuring the glass transition temperature of copolymeric sequences and that of the pure alternating diad (Tg12) obtained by the application of the treatments proposed by Johnston and Barton to all the systems. Tg12 was higher than the average T of both homopolymers (Tg) for the VEMA-HEMA system, Tg12 was lower than Tg for the VEMA-DMA system and Tg12 was similar to Tg for the VEMA-VP system. VEMA-HEMA copolymers gave rise to hydrogels in water, acidic and alkaline media. VEMA-DMA copolymers gave rise to hydrogels in acidic medium and dissolved in water and alkaline medium. VEMA-VP copolymers were soluble in all media. The swelling of all the hydrogels fit a second order kinetics. A VEMA-HEMA hydrogel was selected for in vivo experiments in order to study the influence of vitamin E on the regeneration process of Achilles tendon. The polymeric derivatives of vitamin E stimulated the regenerative process as a consequence of the antiaging effect in the local area of application.

Anticancer and Antiangiogenic Activity of Surfactant-Free Nanoparticles Based on Self-Assembled Polymeric Derivatives of Vitamin E: Structure–Activity Relationship

“…; [M 10 ]/[M 20 ] = x 0 ; [M 2 ]=y and [M 20 ]=y 0 ‫ݎ‬ ଶ + ‫ݎ(‬ ଵ − ‫ݔ)1‬ 1 − ‫ݎ‬ ଶ + ‫ݎ(‬ ଵ − ‫ݔ)1‬ ቇ భ మ ିଵ/(ଵି భ )(ଵି మ ) being M i the molar concentration of monomer i, r i the reactivity ration of monomer i, and M i0 the initial monomer concentration of monomer i.Reactivity ratios of the four copolymeric systems (figure 4) were in good agreement with those described in the literature for similar systems that involved the reaction of a methacrylic monomer and VP 21,22 . Although poly(VP-co-MVE) system has been previously synthesized and characterized, reactivity ratios were not reported due to technical difficulties15 .…”