Development of sustained antimicrobial-release systems using poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)/trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate hydrogels

Reconstructive materials with sustained antimicrobial effects could be useful for preventing infectious diseases in an environment containing indigenous bacteria or fungi such as the oral cavity. With the objective of applying a non-biodegradable hydrogel to resin-based materials as a reservoir for water-soluble antimicrobials, novel hydrogels consisting of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TMPT) were fabricated. Cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) was loaded into five hydrogels comprising different ratios of HEMA/TMPT, and their ability to release as well as to be recharged with CPC was examined in vitro. A polyHEMA/TMPT hydrogel comprising 50% HEMA/50% TMPT could be effectively loaded and recharged with CPC by immersion into a CPC solution, demonstrating the longest release of CPC, above the concentration required to inhibit bacteria and fungi. The binding of CPC to the hydrogels was mainly through hydrophobic interaction. Loading of CPC into a hydrogel by mixing CPC powder with the HEMA/TMPT monomer before polymerization resulted in marked extension of the initial CPC-release period. The CPC-pre-mixed hydrogel was confirmed to exhibit antibacterial activity by agar diffusion tests. It is possible to achieve a sustained release system for antimicrobials by pre-mix loading and recharging CPC into a 50% HEMA/50% TMPT hydrogel.