Alginate–PEGAc: A new mucoadhesive polymer

We have synthesized a novel mucoadhesive polymer, alginate–polyethylenglycol acrylate (alginate–PEGAc), in which an alginate backbone carries acrylated polyethylenglycol. This polymer combines the strength, simplicity and gelation ability of alginate with the mucoadhesion properties arising from the characteristics and acrylate functionality of PEG. The strong bonding to the mucus results from a combination of PEG’s ability to interpenetrate the mucus surface and a Michael-type addition reaction between an acrylate end group on a polymer and the sulfide end group of the mucin-type glycoprotein. We have synthesized alginate–PEGAc, verified the formation of the desired product by nuclear magnetic resonance, demonstrated the lack of cytotoxicity, and evaluated the ability of this polymer to function as a novel mucoadhesive material for controlled drug release. Based on our findings we believe that modifying other polymers with PEG–acrylate can open the way for the development of many other multifunctional biomaterials for a variety of biotechnological and biomedical applications.