Enhancing the selectivity of an iron binding hydrogel

Iron overload is a critical clinical condition that can be controlled by diet and the use of iron-specific chelating agents. An effective oral formulation of an iron chelator should be nontoxic and selective toward iron while maintaining high affinity for iron. In this study, hydrogels containing 2,3 dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,3 DHBA), a portion of the metal chelating domain of enterobactin, were synthesized as a potential non-absorbed chelator for iron in the gastrointestinal tract. A series of polymeric chelators with various hydrogel:DHBA ratios were prepared. The iron-binding properties of the hydrogels were found to depend on the concentration of 2,3 DHBA groups on polymer chains. A 0.005 ratio of PAAm:DHBA was found to have an optimum affinity (log K = 27.01), selectivity, and high binding capacity for Fe(III).