Two methacrylic derivatives of ibuprofen (N-h4-[2-(4-isobutylphenyl)propionyloxy]phenylj methacrylamide (MAI) and 2-[(4-isobutylphenyl)propionyloxy]ethyl methacrylate (MEI)) were used together with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) to synthesize four polymeric materials: two hydrophobic homopolymers, PMAI and PMEI, and two hydrophilic copolymers containing 70% (w/w) HEMA, MAI–HEMA 30 and MEI–H...

The first committed step of porphyrin synthesis in higher plants is the reduction of glutamyl-tRNA to glutamate 1-semialdehyde. This reaction is catalyzed by glutamyl-tRNA reductase, which is encoded by hemA genes. Two hemA cDNA clones (hemA1 and hemA2) were obtained from cucumber (Cucumis sativus) cotyledons by the PCR and cDNA library screening. They showed significant homology with published...

Copolymers of sodium 4-styrene sulfonate (SS) and hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) were investigated as sequestrants of alpha-gliadin, a gluten protein, for the treatment of gluten intolerance. The interactions of alpha-gliadin with poly(SS) and poly(HEMA-co-SS) with 9 and 26 mol% SS content were studied at gastric (1.2) and intestinal (6.8) pH using circular dichroism and measurements of turbi...

With the advent of nanotechnology, the behavior of individual polymer chains is increasingly being studied due to their potential to act as molecular springs, switches, sensors, shock absorbers, and motors. Single molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) or “tensile testing” is a powerful technique that is fast enabling rational nanomechanical design of synthetic polymers for such applications.1-3 Re...

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), a known angiogenic factor, may provide a potential strategy for the treatment of myocardial infarction (MI), but it is limited by a relatively short half-life. Dex-PCL-HEMA/PNIPAAm hydrogel provides a reservoir for the controlled release of growth factors. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effects of bFGF incorporated into a Dex-PCL-HEMA/PNI...

Two revisited mathematical kinetic relationships were derived, evaluated and applied on linear polymers such as polystyrene and copolymers such as (NIPAAm-alt-HEMA) and (MAAm-alt-HEMA) copolymers respectively. The validity of these equations was successfully verified. The first relationship, equation 12, interrelates exponentially kinetic chain length, average molecular weight and degree of pol...

A crosslinked polymer hybrid film, ipn-poly(vinyl cinnamate-graft-2-hydroxy ethyl methacrylate)-v-poly(ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) was synthesized by UV initiation using poly(vinyl cinnamate) (polyVCi), 2-hydroxy methacrylate (HEMA) monomer and ethylene dimethacrylate (EGDMA) crosslinker. Benzophenone (Ph2CO), used as the photoinitiator. The synthesis optimized changing concentration of HEM...

In order to increase the water content and the oxygen permeability of hydrogels used in themanufacture of contact lenses, the polar monomer Silicon Hydrogel Contact Lenses (SHCL), and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) were copolymerized with the hydrogels. Due to the presence ofpolar monomers in the conventional contact lenses, the major component of the human tear,lysozyme is extensively adso...