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The bicontinuous microemulsion contact lens (BMCL) has nanoporous biphasic structures (100–250 nm) that are interconnected via multiple nano‐channels, providing suitable retention of various drugs for glaucoma. Timolol maleate (TM)‐carried thermosensitive poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) nanogel (30–50 nm) was incorporated into BMCLs by soaking or by centrifuging plus soaking. Here, we present drug‐loading and release in silicon‐ or polyethylene oxide‐microemulsion BMCLs under various conditions. Nanoporous BMCLs containing thermosensitive TM‐laden nanogel were capable of potent body‐temperature‐triggered release of TM. Daily drug release was controllable according to the initial volume of drug‐loaded (VDL) and loading method for sustained drug release, making them reduce drug‐loss during transportation or storage. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 107B: 1159–1169, 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, antioxidant hydrogels were prepared by the construction of an interpenetrating chitosan network and functionalization with gallic acid. The poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) p(HEMA)-based hydrogels were first synthesized and subsequently surface-modified with an interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) structure prepared with methacrylamide chitosan via free radical polymerization. The resulting chitosan-IPN hydrogels were surface-functionalized with gallic acid through an amide coupling reaction, which afforded the antioxidant hydrogels. Notably, gallic-acid-modified hydrogels based on a longer chitosan backbone exhibited superior antioxidant activity than their counterpart with a shorter chitosan moiety; this correlated to the amount of gallic acid attached to the chitosan backbone. Moreover, the surface contact angles of the chitosan-modified hydrogels decreased, indicating that surface functionalization of the hydrogels with chitosan-IPN increased the wettability because of the presence of the hydrophilic chitosan network chain. Our study indicates that chitosan-IPN hydrogels may facilitate the development of applications in biomedical devices and ophthalmic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a series of rationally designed emissive phenanthrene derivatives were synthesized and their aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties in tetrahydrofuran (THF)/water mixtures were investigated. Two tetraphenylethene (TPE) segments were conjugated to both ends of the phenanthrene core at the para -positions and meta -positions, resulting in pTPEP and mTPEP derivatives, respectively. While the TPE-conjugated phenanthrene derivatives did not show any emission when dissolved in pure THF, they showed strong sky-blue emissions in water-THF mixtures, which is attributed to the restriction of intramolecular motions of TPE segments by aggregation. Furthermore, silica nanoparticles loaded with these AIE-active compounds were prepared and proved to be promising intracellular imaging agents.

In this work, antioxidant hydrogels were prepared by the construction of an interpenetrating chitosan network and functionalization with gallic acid. The poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) p(HEMA)-based hydrogels were first synthesized and subsequently surface-modified with an interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) structure prepared with methacrylamide chitosan via free radical polymerization. The resulting chitosan-IPN hydrogels were surface-functionalized with gallic acid through an amide coupling reaction, which afforded the antioxidant hydrogels. Notably, gallic-acid-modified hydrogels based on a longer chitosan backbone exhibited superior antioxidant activity than their counterpart with a shorter chitosan moiety; this correlated to the amount of gallic acid attached to the chitosan backbone. Moreover, the surface contact angles of the chitosan-modified hydrogels decreased, indicating that surface functionalization of the hydrogels with chitosan-IPN increased the wettability because of the presence of the hydrophilic chitosan network chain. Our study indicates that chitosan-IPN hydrogels may facilitate the development of applications in biomedical devices and ophthalmic materials., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.