Unger K, Coclite AM. Glucose-Responsive Boronic Acid Hydrogel Thin Films Obtained via Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition.
Biomacromolecules 2022;
23:4289-4295. [PMID:
36053563 PMCID:
PMC9554909 DOI:
10.1021/acs.biomac.2c00762]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
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Glucose-responsive materials are of great importance
in the field
of monitoring the physiological glucose level or smart insulin management.
This study presents the first vacuum-based deposition of a glucose-responsive
hydrogel thin film. The successful vacuum-based synthesis of a glucose-responsive
hydrogel may open the door to a vast variety of new applications,
where, for example, the hydrogel thin film is applied on new possible
substrates. In addition, vacuum-deposited films are free of leachables
(e.g., plasticizers and residual solvents). Therefore, they are, in
principle, safe for in-body applications. A hydrogel made of but-3-enylboronic
acid units, a boronic acid compound, was synthesized via initiated
chemical vapor deposition. The thin film was characterized in terms
of chemical composition, surface morphology, and swelling response
toward pH and sucrose, a glucose–fructose compound. The film
was stable in aqueous solutions, consisting of polymerized boronic
acid and the initiator unit, and had an undulating texture appearance
(rms 2.1 nm). The hydrogel was in its shrunken state at pH 4–7
and swelled by increasing the pH to 9. The pKa was 8.2 ± 0.2. The response to glucose was observed
at pH 10 and resulted in thickness shrinking.
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