Journal article
High water content hydrogel with super high refractive index
C Zhou, DE Heath, ARM Sharif, S Rayatpisheh, BHL Oh, X Rong, R Beuerman, MB Chan-Park
Macromolecular Bioscience | WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH | Published : 2013
Abstract
Transparent, high water content (>65%), and cytocompatible hydrogels, which also possess super high refractive indices (RI > 1.5), are needed for ophthalmological applications. Most hydrogels can achieve either high RI or high water content but not both in the same system because water is a low RI material. Here, high water content/high RI hydrogels fabricated through elevated-temperature UV polymerization of an aqueous solution of acrylamide (AM) and methacrylamide (MAM) with tri(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (TEDA) crosslinker are reported. By varying the AM:MAM ratios (2:8 to 8:2) and crosslinker density (5 to 11 mol %), it is discovered that high water content (66%) AM:MAM copolymer hy..
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Awarded by Singapore SingHealth Foundation
Funding Acknowledgements
This work was partially supported by the Singapore SingHealth Foundation Grant SHF/09/GMC(1)/012(R) (R705) and the National Research Foundation Singapore through the Singapore MIT Alliance for Research and Technology's BioSystems and Micromechanics Inter-Disciplinary Research program. The authors thank Dr. Jod Mehta and Dr. Donald Tan of the Singapore Eye Research Institute and Prof. Linda Griffith of MIT for their helpful discussions.