Photocuring of aliphatic-lineal poly(glycerol adipate) with a monomer bearing thiazolium groups as a promising approach for biomedical applications

Abstract

[EN] In this work, we described the combination of photocurable methacrylic monomer and poly(glycerol adipate) (PGA) macromer to form networks that can be further quaternized to provide antimicrobial character. Both monomers were synthesized enzymatically. Networks with different content of methacrylic monomer were prepared and further characterized by water contact angle measurements, surface charge, soluble fractions, differential scanning calorimetry and microhardness to determine the effect of the methacrylic monomer in the PGA network. Methacrylic monomer affected the mechanical behavior but did not alter the surface wettability, whereas the quaternization did not alter the wettability nor the mechanical properties of the network surfaces. Finally, the obtained network with the introduced permanent cationic charges were tested against Gram-positive S. aureus and Gram-negative E. coli bacteria showing remarkable antimicrobial activity which increased with the content of methacrylic monomer in the network. Moreover, the assays against red blood cells demonstrated that networks are no toxic.