Bioadhesive polymers are natural or synthetic materials that can be used for soft tissue repair. The aim of this investigation was to develop an injectable, bioadhesive hydrogel with the potential to serve as a synthetic replacement for the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral disc or as an annulus closure material. Branched copolymers of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) and poly(ethylen...

A near-infrared (NIR)-responsive Aurod@pNIPAAm-PEGMA nanogel was synthesized in two steps, growing a PEGMA monolayer on the surface of gold nanorods (AuNRs), followed by in situ polymerization and cross-linking of N-iso-propylacrylamide (NIPAAm) and poly-(ethylene glycol)-methacrylate (PEGMA). The AuNRs and Aurod@pNIPAAm-PEGMA nanogel were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, Raman spectroscop...

A novel method to fabricate shape controllable alginate/pNIPAAm complex microgels is reported. Monodisperse alginate/pNIPAAm droplets are created via microfluidics and cross-linked in different concentrations of hot glycerol/barium acetate water solutions. By changing the initial droplet size and glycerol concentration of the collecting solution, the resultant microgel shape and surface details...

Polymers with advanced topological architectures are promising materials for wide applications due to their structure-generated unique properties different from that of the linear analogues. The elegant integration of stimuli-responsive polymers with such advanced architectures can create novel materials with virtues from both moieties, are thus a hot subject of research for both fundamental an...

A series of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) (PNIPAAm-co-PAA) random copolymers were synthesized through free radical copolymerization in MeOH. The incorporation of the acrylic acid units into PNIPAAm tended to enhance the glass transition temperature (Tg), due to strong intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the amide groups of PNIPAAm and the carboxyl groups of PAA, as observed us...

Surfaces incorporating the antimicrobial enzyme, lysozyme, have been previously demonstrated to effectively disrupt bacterial cellular envelopes. As with any surface active antimicrobial, however, lysozyme-expressing surfaces become limited in their utility by the accumulation of dead bacteria and debris. Surfaces modified with environmentally responsive polymers, on the other hand, have been s...

Abstract. Porous poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) hydrogels with pore diameters in the nanometer and micrometer range were synthesized using two variations of surfactant-based template method. We showed that smaller lead to faster swelling deswelling. A graphic representation a model describing kinetics explains assumption release uptake water is for larger specific surface area, diameters...

Here, we report on a new temperature responsive polymer brush system with a terminal ‘‘click’’ functionality. Bifunctionalized poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNiPAAm) with distinct functional end groups was synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and grafted to a modified silicon substrate. The presence of the active terminal alkyne functionality is validated using an azidemodi...

Using surface initiated atomic transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and an injection method, a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-b-poly(acrylic acid)-g-RGD (PNIPAAm-b-PAA-g-RGD) gradient surface was prepared. First, a thermoresponsive surface with a constant thickness of PNIPAAm was fabricated, onto which the AA monomers were block copolymerized using the PNIPAAm macromolecules as initiators. Durin...

Ocular drug delivery is one of the most commonly used treatment modalities in the management of glaucoma. We have recently proposed the use of gelatin and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) graft copolymers as biodegradable in situ forming delivery systems for the intracameral administration of antiglaucoma medications. In this study, we further investigated the influence of carrier characte...