Crosslinking behavior of dextran modified with hydroxyethyl methacrylate upon irradiation with visible light—Effect of concentration, coinitiator type, and solvent

Abstract This study presents the synthesis of a crosslinkable dextran as starting material for the development of new hydrogels as drug delivery system in dental applications. 2‐Hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) was coupled to dextran after activation with carbonyldiimidazole as monitored by FTIR and 1 H‐NMR spectroscopy. The Dex‐HEMA was crosslinked by visible light in the presence of camphorquinone (CQ) as photoinitiator and a coinitiator in a proper solvent. Aliphatic or aromatic amines were used as coinitiators and the content of the coinitiator was varied from 0.25 to 3.0 mol %. Diphenyliodonium chloride was added as a third component to the above photoinitiation system. It was observed that, the degree of swelling decreased upon an increase of Dex‐HEMA concentration and the water content in the solvent system due to formation of more crosslinking points, that is, increasing crosslink density ( P x ). The type of coinitiator shows a prominent impact on the swelling behavior and crosslinking efficiency of hydrogels. Special cryofixation and cryofracture techniques were used to investigate the surface and interior of swollen Dex‐HEMA hydrogel samples by SEM. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010