Polymethacrylates with a Covalently Linked Cu II –Cyclen Complex for the In Situ Generation of Nitric Oxide from Nitrosothiols in Blood

In the matrix: A new cross-linked hydrogel polymer, poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA), containing appended CuII–cyclen sites (cyclen=1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane) was prepared and shown to generate nitric oxide from endogenous S-nitrosothiol species (RSNO) typically found in circulating whole blood.