Polyurethanes represent a broad class of polymers widely applied in everyday-life. Although polyurethanes are easy to produce and have a broad range of adjustable properties, only a few polyurethane-based nanomaterials have been realized so far. Here we designed a novel class of water-soluble polyurethanes that combine multiple functionalities relevant for biomedical nano-applications. They have the potential to change their chemical and mechanical properties, triggered by both changes in pH inside the body and intracellular redoxosomes. Crosslinking water-soluble polyurethanes leads to hydrogels, which are materials with soft mechanical properties useful for applications like drug delivery or tissue engineering. However, previously reported methods to create polyurethane-based hydrogels are limited for biomedical use, since they are based on toxic isocyanate-terminated prepolymers. Our novel gelation mechanism is based on physical interactions and does not require any free isocyanate groups, rendering our hydrogels non-toxic and applicable as drug delivery systems or injectable gels for in-situ tissue engineering.

Multifunctional polyurethane hydrogels for biomedical applications

251st National Meeting (2016)

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