Synthesis and characterization of biocompatible hydrogel based on hydroxyethyl cellulose-g-poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate)

A novel polymeric hydrogel composed of hydroxyethyl cellulose-g-poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) was prepared via graft polymerization of hydroxyethyl methacrylate on the surface of hydroxyethyl cellulose. N,Nʹ-Methylenebisacrylamide was used as a cross-linker. In this work, we changed the ratio of hydroxyethyl cellulose to the monomer, while the potassium persulfate and the cross-liker were used in amounts proportional to the wt% of both the matrix and monomer. The copolymers formation was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction pattern, while the changes in the surface morphology of the hydrogel were examined by scanning electron microscopy. The increase in the monomer ratio gradually improved the thermal stability of the resultant hydrogels. Finally, the cytotoxicity of the new polymeric hydrogels was evaluated using HCT-116, HepG2, MCF-7 human cancer cell lines and RPE-1 normal cell line. The cytotoxicity studies showed that the hydrogels were selectively toxic against the tested human cancer cell lines in a dose-dependent manner, whereas their cytotoxic activity was significantly reduced when they incubated with human RPE-1 normal cell lines, suggesting their possible utility in the formulation of anticancer drugs.