Systematic control of mesh size in hydrogels by initiated chemical vapor deposition

This investigation has been focused on the development of a cylindrical-shape hydrogel microtube to be used as a biosensor for medical applications. 2-Hydroxyethyl methacrylate copolymerized with ethylene glycol diacrylate p(HEMA-co-EGDA) has been synthesized by initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) using an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane as a template. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to determine the reactivity ratio of the copolymerization. Spectroscopy ellipsometry and UV-vis spectrophotometry were performed to study the swelling and mesh size of the polymer layer. Results showed that the polymer mesh size can be tuned by systematic control of cross-linking density to achieve selective diffusion of species through its network.