Poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) hydrogel: from a brittle material to a nanofilled semi‐interpenetrating polymer network with potential application in wound dressings

In this work we report the photopolymerization of poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) together with a hydrophilic chitosan derivate (carboxymethyl‐chitosan) to yield a semi‐interpenetrating polymer network (semi‐IPN) that was filled with poly(N‐vinylcaprolactam)/poly(ethylene glycol methacrylate) core–shell nanogels in order to enhance the mechanical properties of the resulting hydrogels. The mechanical properties of the nanofilled semi‐IPNs were found to be more suitable for wound dressing applications than the PHEMA hydrogel as described by dynamic mechanical analysis in dry form and submerged in water. This was evidenced by a higher Young's modulus and higher elongation at break in the semi‐IPNs compared to blank PHEMA hydrogels. Furthermore, when the hydrogels were filled with nanogels, there was an elongation at break similar to that of skin with only a slightly lower Young's modulus. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry A brittle hydrogel composed of crosslinked poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) was modified by carboxymethyl‐chitosan and polyethyleneglycol (PEG) containing nanogels (NGs) to achieve a biomaterial with mechanical properties close to those of skin.