Polymerization of Hydrogel Network on Microfiber Surface: Synthesis of Hybrid Water-Absorbing Matrices for Biomedical Applications.

Biodegradable plastics and hydrogels possess distinct mechanical/biocompatibility properties that are indispensible in device design. It is desirable to combine their advantages by creating hybrid materials/structures. Here, a new method based on a reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) reaction was demonstrated by direct polymerization of polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogel network on polycaprolactone (PCL) electrospun fibers. The resulting hybrid fibrous matrices exhibited unique material characteristics-including high-speed water absorption without visible matrix deformation and plastic bulk properties with low surface elasticity-that were otherwise nonachievable in plastics or hydrogels alone. The mechanically strong, water-absorbing fibrous composite materials can potentially find important applications in biomedical devices.