Dsg. Hu et Ce. Tsai, CORRELATION BETWEEN INTERFACIAL FREE-ENERGY AND ALBUMIN ADSORPTION INPOLY(ACRYLONITRILE-ACRYLAMIDE-ACRYLIC ACID) HYDROGELS, Journal of applied polymer science, 59(12), 1996, pp. 1809-1817
An investigation on the influence of chemical compositions and surface
properties (e.g., surface free energy in air and hydrogel-water inter
facial energy) on the adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) at pH 7
.4 on to a series of poly(acrylonitrile-acrylamide-acrylic acid) hydro
gels was carried out. The interfacial energetics were determined from
the contact angle data for air-gel and octane-gel in the water environ
ment and the specific adsorption of BSA was determined with UV-VIS spe
ctroscopy. It is shown that the higher contents of amide and acid grou
ps in hydrogel bulk lead to the greater polar component of surface ene
rgy in air and the greater BSA adsorption in aqueous solutions. The BS
A adsorption decreases with water amount in gels at lower amide/acid c
ontents and increases at higher contents. The results imply that the i
nterfacial interactions between the protein and the reorganized hydrog
el interface in exposure with water, as well as the penetration of pro
tein into pores of swollen gels, influence the BSA adsorption. (C) 199
6 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.