"CHicable" and "Clickable" Copolymers for Network Formation and Surface Modification

Attachment of Hydrogel Patches to Eye Tissue through Gel Transfer using Flexible Foils

Glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness, demands innovative and effective treatments that surpass the limitations of current drug and surgical interventions to lower intraocular pressure. This study describes the generation of cell-repellent hydrogel patches, their deposition on the ocular surface, and a photoinduced chemical binding between the patches and the collagens of the eye. The hydrophilic and protein-repellent hydrogel patch is composed of a copolymer made from dimethylacrylamide and a comonomer unit with anthraquinone moieties. A thin layer of the prepolymer is deposited on a flexible foil. This foil has a hydrophobic side on top and superhydrophilic sides on the bottom. A small amount of added water can penetrate easily through the foil and release the polymer, which is thus transferred from the foil onto the eye at the desired location. Through brief irradiation with UV light with a wavelength of 365 nm, the prepolymer is simultaneously cross-linked and covalently attached to the eye's surface through C-H insertion reactions. We describe the handling, attachment, UV irradiation effects on nearby healthy tissues, biocompatibility, stability, and cellular interaction of the patches during in vitro studies.

Cryogel Monoliths for Analyte Enrichment by Capture and Release

A platform based on cryogel monoliths in small capillaries, which allows very strong enrichment of an analyte through a capture and release process, is described. For their preparation, a photoreactive copolymer solution containing capture molecules of interest is filled into a capillary, frozen in, and then photochemically transformed into cryogel monoliths through C,H-insertion cross-linking reactions. As a test example, the platform is used for the preconcentration of dopamine from bovine serum albumin and urine samples through capture and release processes. During capture from a large volume and release into a smaller volume, the platform shows recovery rates up to 97% and allows up to a roughly 630-fold enrichment of the concentration of the analyte. The presented platform could be used as a disposable device for the purification and enrichment of a variety of cis-diol-containing samples.