Initiated chemical vapor deposition of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) hydrogels

Abstract

Initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD), a low temperature variant of hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) is a solvent-free polymerization technique. It was used to synthesize thick, free-standing films of the hydrogel poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA). In this work, we show that the iCVD technique can yield PHEMA which is free from residual entrained monomer, has low non-specific protein adsorption and is capable of supporting good cell adhesion and proliferation. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.