Hydroxyethyl methacrylate

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Hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) is an hydrosoluble monomer, which can polymerize (under various circonstances) at low temperatures (from -20°C to + 10°C), It can be used to prepare various hydrogels, to immobilize proteins or cells. It is widely used in medicine as a biomaterial as reviewed in several papers from our group [1-2]. The hydroxyethyl pending species of the polymer confer a high hydrophilicity, a good biocompatibility, and these groups can be used (after chemical modification or grafting) to complex various types of molecules or ions. The hardness of the polymer, obtained by bulk polymerisation, depends upon the amount of water used to prepare the hydrogel: with a reduced amount of water, the mechanical resistance of the polymer is very similar to bone (or even higher).