Degradable Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-co-polycaprolactone Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering Scaffolds

Biodegradable poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)(pHEMA) hydrogels for engineered tissue constructs were developed by the use of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), a degradable cross-linker, and a macroinitiator. Hydrogels are appropriate materials for tissue engineering scaffolds because of their tissue-like mechanical compliance and mass transfer properties. However, many hydrogels that have seen wide application in medicine are not biodegradable or cannot be easily cleared from the body. pHEMA was selected for the scaffold material because of its reasonable mechanical strength, elasticity, and long history of successful use in medicine as well as because it can be easily fabricated into numerous configurations. pHEMA was studied at various molecular weights between 2 and 50 kDa. The molecular weight range suitable for renal clearance was an important factor in the experimental design. The fabricated hydrogels contain oligomeric blocks of polycaprolactone (PCL), a hydrolytically and enzymatically degradable polymer, as a cross-linking agent. In addition, a degradable macroinitiator that also contained oligomeric PCL was used to initiate the ATRP. The chain length, cross-link density, and polymerization solvent were found to affect the mechanical properties of the pHEMA hydrogels. Degradation of the pHEMA hydrogels was characterized by the use of 0.007 M NaOH, lipase solutions, and phosphate-buffered saline. The mass loss, swelling ratio, and tensile modulus were evaluated. Degradation products after sodium hydroxide treatment were measured by the use of gel permeation chromatography (GPC) to verify the polymer lengths and polydispersity. Erosion was observed in only the sodium hydroxide and lipase solutions. However, the swelling ratio and tensile modulus indicate bulk degradation in all PCL-containing samples. Degradable hydrogels in enzymatic solutions showed 30% mass loss in 16 weeks. Initial cell toxicity studies indicate no adverse cellular response to the hydrogels or their degradation products. These hydrogels have appropriate mechanical properties and a tunable degradation rate, and they are composed of materials that are currently in FDA-approved devices. Therefore, the degradable pHEMA developed in this study has considerable potential as a scaffold for tissue engineering applications, in cardiac and other applications.