Design of Plant Oil-Based Cationic Hydrogels for Protein Encapsulation and Controlled Delivery

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Developing sustainable hydrogels with antibacterial and protein delivery functions is crucial for advanced biomedical applications.
• Plant-derived monomers offer a renewable alternative for synthesizing advanced biomaterials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create sustainable, plant oil-derived cationic hydrogels with antibacterial activity and protein delivery capabilities.
• To investigate the impact of hydrogel composition on physicochemical and biological properties.

Main Methods:

• UV-induced polymerization of acrylated methyl ricinoleate (AMR) and 2-aminoethyl methacrylate (AEMA).
• Characterization using FTIR and SEM for structural analysis.
• Evaluation of pH-responsive swelling, antibacterial efficacy, cytocompatibility (HUVEC cells), and protein (BSA) encapsulation/release.

Main Results:

• Successful formation of hydrogels with composition-dependent structures confirmed by FTIR and SEM.
• pH and monomer ratio significantly influenced swelling behavior.
• Hydrogels demonstrated potent antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus with >80% HUVEC cell viability.
• Protein encapsulation efficiency correlated inversely with crosslinking density.

Conclusions:

• Renewable plant oil-derived monomers combined with cationic components yield sustainable hydrogels with tunable properties.
• These hydrogels show significant potential for wound healing and localized protein delivery applications.
• The developed hydrogels offer a promising platform for sustainable biomedical solutions.