High water content hydrogel with super high refractive index
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Synthesis of Hydrogels with Antifouling Properties As Membranes for Water Purification
Published on: April 7, 2017
Chuncai Zhou1, Daniel E Heath, Abdul Rahim Mohamed Sharif
1School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 62 Nanyang Drive, Singapore, 637459, Singapore.
Abstract:
Transparent, high water content (>65%), and cytocompatible hydrogels, which also possess super high refractive indices (RI > 1.5), are needed for ophthalmological applications. Most hydrogels can achieve either high RI or high water content but not both in the same system because water is a low RI material. Here, high water content/high RI hydrogels fabricated through elevated-temperature UV polymerization of an aqueous solution of acrylamide (AM) and methacrylamide (MAM) with tri(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (TEDA) crosslinker are reported. By varying the AM:MAM ratios (2:8 to 8:2) and crosslinker density (5 to 11 mol %), it is discovered that high water content (66%) AM:MAM copolymer hydrogels exhibiting anomalously high refractive indices (1.53); they are also colorless, transparent (99.4%), and cytocompatible with human keratinocytes.
