Synthesis of polyHEMA hydrogels for using as biomaterials. Bulk and solution radical-initiated polymerization techniques

Dense and porous polyHEMA hydrogels were synthesized by bulk and solution radical-initiated polymerization techniques. The morphologic analysis (SEM) of obtained hydrogels showed an amorphous dense structure for the samples obtained by bulk polymerization and a porous structure with non connected porous as a result of bulk polymerization in the presence of water soluble crystals (sucrose/NaCl). The use of solution polymerization technique using different amounts of water as diluent resulted in the formation of a sponge-like structure with connected microporous in case of using water amount equal or higher than 57.5%. The saline solution uptake and dynamic mechanical behavior of dense hydrogels were influenced by the amount of crosslinking between the polymer chains.