Improved Hydrophilicity from Poly(ethylene glycol) in Amphiphilic Conetworks with Poly(dimethylsiloxane)

Abstract

This paper focuses on the improvement of hydrophicility and water content of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) by bonding a hydrophilic macromer, hydroxyl-terminated linear poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), into a highly hydrophobic macromer, hydroxyl-terminated linear PDMS to prepare amphiphilic conetworks (APCNs) with the crosslinkers, tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and bis [(3-methyldimethoxysilyl) propyl]-polypropylene oxide (BMPPO), which also functioned as a compatibilizer. Fourier transform infrared results clearly demonstrated the occurrence of the hydrolysis reactions between the terminal hydroxyl groups on the terminal of the two polymer chains and the alkoxy groups in TEOS and BMPPO. Differential scanning calorimetry results and X-ray diffraction obviously showed the presence of the two phases in the conetworks. The contact angle (CA) indicated the wettability of the conetworks increased in the surfaces, that is, CA values decreased significantly from 105°in PDMS to 55°i n the PEG/PDMS APCN (10/1 mol ratio), and the swelling degrees of the APCNs increased from ca. 0 to 60 % when the PEG/PDMS mol ratio was larger than 4/1. The APCNs with such high hydrophilicity and the good mechanical properties should be useful as biomaterials.

Poly(caprolactone)-Based Coatings on 3D-Printed Biodegradable Implants: A Novel Strategy to Prolong Delivery of Hydrophilic Drugs

“…For PEG 1000 concentrations above 30% (i.e., H35L35P30 and H30L30P40), no significant difference ( p > 0.05) in contact angle was observed. Lin et al 56 also reported that increasing the proportion of PEG in amphiphilic co-networks of poly(dimethylsiloxane) resulted in a reduction in their contact angle with deionized water up until a maximum PEG ratio of 6/1. After this point, contact angle remained constant.…”

Antialgal Synergistic Polystyrene Blended with Polyethylene Glycol and Silver Sulfadiazine for Healthcare Applications

“…Hydrophilicity of various polymer blends was measured in terms of contact angle as shown in Figure 4. The static contact angle of virgin PS was found to be 80 °, and increasing the concentration of PEG, the contact angle was decreased [25]. The PSP5 blend with 5% PEG concentration has demonstrated contact angle of 66 ° [26].…”

PEG/PPG-PDMS-Adamantane-Based Crosslinked Terpolymer Using the ROMP Technique to Prepare a Highly Permeable and CO2-Selective Polymer Membrane

“…The morphologies of the x(PEG/PPG:PDMS:Ad) membranes were observed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM); further, their surfaces were also examined ( Figure 7 ). As can be seen in the images, sphere-shaped phases were dotted over the entire surface for the x(10:0.75:0.25) and x(10:0.5:0.5) membranes, possibly because phase separation occurred between the hydrophilic region, owing to PEG, and the hydrophobic region, owing to the PDMS structure ( Figure 7 a,b, respectively) [ 22 , 40 ].…”

“…The morphologies of the x(PEG/PPG:PDMS:Ad) membranes were observed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM); further, their surfaces were also examined (Figure 7). As can be seen in the images, sphere-shaped phases were dotted over the entire surface for the x(10:0.75:0.25) and x(10:0.5:0.5) membranes, possibly because phase separation occurred between the hydrophilic region, owing to PEG, and the hydrophobic region, owing to the PDMS structure (Figure 7a,b, respectively) [22,40]. To determine which precursor of the three components (PEG/PPG, PDMS, and adamantane), caused the sphere-shaped phases, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) mapping was performed to investigate the distribution of elements and their relative content (atomic %), as shown in Figure 8 and Table 2.…”

“…Here, crosslinking refers to a process where the main chains of polymers are physically or chemically linked to improve the physical properties of PDMS and simultaneously reduce the crystallinity of PEG. For gas separation, although crosslinking results in some loss of permeability, the network structure has also been observed to increase the degree of gas selectivity in the corresponding crosslinked membranes [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ].…”