Thin poly(vinyl alcohol) cryogels: reactive groups, macropores and translucency in microtiter plate assays

Abstract

Thin macroporous poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels were produced by cross-linking of PVA in a semi-frozen state with glutaraldehyde (GA) on glass slides or in the wells of microtiter plates. The 100-130 μm-thick gels were mechanically transferable, squamous translucent films with a high porosity of 7.2 ± 0.3 mL/g dry PVA i.e. similar to larger cylindrical PVA monoliths of the same composition. Additional treatment of the gels with 1% GA increased the aldehyde group content from 0.7 to 2.4 μmol/mL as estimated using dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) reagent. Translucency of the gels allowed registration of UV-visible spectra of the DNPH-stained films. The catalytic activity of trypsin covalently immobilized on thin gels in the microtiter plates was estimated with chromogenic substrate directly in the wells, and indicated that the amount of protein immobilized was at least 0.34 mg/mL gel. Human immunoglobulin G (IgG) immobilized on thin gels at 0.1–10 mg/mL starting concentrations could be detected in a concentration-dependent manner due to recognition by anti-human rabbit IgG conjugated with peroxidase and photometric registration of the enzymatic activity. The results indicate good permeability of the hydrogel pores for macromolecular biospecific reagents and suggest applications of thin reactive PVA hydrogels in photometric analytical techniques.

Poly(vinyl alcohol) Hydrogels: The Old and New Functional Materials

“…The gelation mechanism (c.f. Figure 2(a)) of this physical method includes (1) the polymer chain aggregation region and nonaggregation region are formed at the initial stage of gelation, resulting in an network structure due to the function of intramolecular hydrogen bond; (2) when PVA solution was frozen, the movement of molecular chains was weakened, and the contact time between chains became longer while the distance between chains was shortened, International Journal of Polymer Science which promoted the formation of hydrogen bond association between hydroxyl groups both iner/intermolecular [22,23]. The PVA hydrogels prepared by the freezingthawing method do not use toxic organic crosslinker that maintains good biocompatibility.…”

An efficient strategy to design and construct high‐strength and fluorescence poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels via freeze–Thaw cycles

“…In comparison to the pure PVA hydrogel, adding TAPT causes the OH absorption peak to redshift. This is because hydrogen bonds will reduce the chemical bond force constant and electron cloud density, which promotes PVA and TAPT to form a cross‐linked network through intermolecular hydrogen bonds 44,45 …”

Hydroxyalkyl Amination of Agarose Gels Improves Adsorption of Bisphenol A and Diclofenac from Water: Conceivable Prospects

“…Looking ahead, our research aims to create porous materials with pre-defined shapes and permeabilities that are better suited for technical implementation in purification technologies. Potential avenues include macroporous membranes [26] and spongy flow-through monoliths [15,27], both of which may exhibit hydroxyalkyl amino groups.…”