Synthesis and properties of cyclic acetal biomaterials

There is an increasing need to develop new biomaterials as tissue engineering scaffolds. Unfortunately, many of the materials that have been studied for these purposes are polyesters that hydrolytically degrade into acidic products, which may harm the surrounding tissue, and lead to accelerated degradation of the biomaterial. To overcome this disadvantage, a novel class of biomaterials based on a cyclic acetal unit has been created. Specifically, materials based upon the monomer 5-ethyl-5-(hydroxymethyl)-beta,beta-dimethyl-1,3-dioxane-2-ethanol diacrylate (EHD) is examined. This study investigates the effects of fabrication parameters, including initiator content, volume of diluent, and volume of accelerant, on several properties of EHD networks. Twelve different formulations were fabricated by varying the three parameters in a factorial design. The effects of the fabrication parameters on properties of the EHD networks were examined. Results show that the volume of accelerant most affected the EHD network gelation time, while the volume of diluent most affected the maximum reaction temperature, sol fraction, and degree of swelling. Cell viability on the EHD networks varied between (18 +/- 6)% and (57 +/- 10)% of the control at 4 h, and between (36 +/- 14)% and (140 +/- 50)% of the control at 8 h. These results indicate that it is possible to control the properties of the EHD networks by varying the fabrication parameters, and that EHD networks support a viable cell population.