Interconnected macroporous glycidyl methacrylate-grafted dextran hydrogels synthesised from hydroxyapatite nanoparticle stabilised high internal phase emulsion templates

Abstract

Commercially available hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanoparticles were used as sole emulsifiers to produce stable methyl myristate-in-water and soybean oil-in-water high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs). The droplet size in the Pickering inverse HIPEs (i-HIPEs) could be adjusted within a certain range by tailoring the energy input during emulsification and emulsifier concentrations. These HAp nanoparticle stabilised i-HIPEs were then used as templates to synthesise interconnected high porosity macroporous hydrogels by crosslinking glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) functionalised dextran, which was dissolved in the continuous aqueous phase of the i-HIPEs. The pore size of these polyPickering-HIPE hydrogels could be adjusted by the emulsifier concentration, oil type, emulsification conditions or ripening time of the i-HIPE templates.