Institute of Solid State Physics, NAWI Graz, Graz University of Technology, 8010 Graz, Austria.
Biomacromolecules. 2022 Oct 10;23(10):4289-4295. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.2c00762. Epub 2022 Sep 2.
Glucose-responsive materials are of great importance in the field of monitoring the physiological glucose level or smart insulin management. This study presents the first vacuum-based deposition of a glucose-responsive hydrogel thin film. The successful vacuum-based synthesis of a glucose-responsive hydrogel may open the door to a vast variety of new applications, where, for example, the hydrogel thin film is applied on new possible substrates. In addition, vacuum-deposited films are free of leachables (e.g., plasticizers and residual solvents). Therefore, they are, in principle, safe for in-body applications. A hydrogel made of but-3-enylboronic acid units, a boronic acid compound, was synthesized via initiated chemical vapor deposition. The thin film was characterized in terms of chemical composition, surface morphology, and swelling response toward pH and sucrose, a glucose-fructose compound. The film was stable in aqueous solutions, consisting of polymerized boronic acid and the initiator unit, and had an undulating texture appearance (rms 2.1 nm). The hydrogel was in its shrunken state at pH 4-7 and swelled by increasing the pH to 9. The p was 8.2 ± 0.2. The response to glucose was observed at pH 10 and resulted in thickness shrinking.
葡萄糖响应材料在监测生理葡萄糖水平或智能胰岛素管理领域具有重要意义。本研究首次提出了基于真空的葡萄糖响应水凝胶薄膜的沉积方法。葡萄糖响应水凝胶的成功真空合成可能为各种新的应用打开大门，例如，将水凝胶薄膜应用于新的可能的基底上。此外，真空沉积的薄膜没有浸出物（例如，增塑剂和残留溶剂）。因此，它们原则上可用于体内应用。通过引发化学气相沉积合成了由丁烯基硼酸单元（硼酸化合物）制成的水凝胶。从化学组成、表面形态以及对 pH 值和蔗糖（葡萄糖-果糖化合物）的溶胀响应等方面对薄膜进行了表征。该薄膜在含有聚合硼酸和引发剂单元的水性溶液中稳定，具有起伏的纹理外观（均方根 2.1nm）。水凝胶在 pH 值为 4-7 时处于收缩状态，当 pH 值增加到 9 时会溶胀。p 值为 8.2±0.2。在 pH 值为 10 时观察到对葡萄糖的响应，导致厚度收缩。
