Stimuli responsive materials with tunable hydrophobicity properties are of interest for biomedical and industrial applications. The goal of this project is to develop a polymeric material that has a high apparent contact angle (ACA) before ultraviolet light (UV) (365 nm) exposure, and an ACA of 0� after exposure. Since surface roughness has been shown to enhance the hydrophobicity of a material, these polymeric meshes were electrospun with fiber diameters of ~200 nm. The polymer was designed to utilize a UV active 1-(2-nitrophenyl)ethanol protecting group which upon UV exposure cleaves from the side chain leaving an exposed carboxylic acid. Contact angle analysis found an initial ACA of ~135� and after 30 minutes of UV exposure and a 5 minute wetting time an ACA of 0�. Herein we report a polymer mesh with a UV induce hydrophobicity trigger allowing for direct control over the wettability of the surface.

Photoactive electrospun polymeric mesh: Hydrophobic to hydrophilic transformation

244th National Meeting (2012)

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