CONTROLLED RELEASE OF PROTEINS AND PEPTIDES FROM HYDROGELS SYNTHESIZED BY GAMMA-RAY-INDUCED POLYMERIZATION

Hydrogels prepared by radiation-induced polymerization at a low temperature have been used as carriers for the controlled release of peptides and proteins. It was found that polymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate in the presence of poly (ethylene glycol) methyl ether (MPEG) enabled the more porous and swellable matrices to be obtained, the higher the molecular weight of MPEG. As a consequence, protein release took place at an increasing extent and, provided that MPEG molecular weight was high enough, high molecular weight proteins could also be released. Such a state of affairs was not met in the case of hydrogels based on poly (2-hydroxyethyl acrylate). SEM analysis revealed that even high molecular weight MPEG did not give rise to any porosity, even though the degree of swelling was very high. As a result, no protein release was observed. It was therefore concluded that control of hydrogel porosity for the controlled release of large proteins is of overwhelming importance.