Thiol-Acrylate polyHIPEs via Facile Layer-by-Layer Photopolymerization.

A highly reactive thiol-ene high internal phase emulsion based on the monomers 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate and tris 2-(3-mercaptopropionyloxy)ethyl isocyanurate was developed for the purpose of light-driven additive manufacturing, resulting in highly porous customizable poly(high internal phase emulsion) materials. The formulation was specifically designed to facilitate short irradiation times and low amounts of photoinitiator. Furthermore, the developed emulsion does not rely on employing harmful solvents to make scale-up and industrial applications feasible.

Emulsion Templated Porous Poly(thiol-enes): Influence of Photopolymerisation, Emulsion Composition, and Phase Behaviour on the Porous Structure and Morphology.

1,6-hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) or divinyl adipate (DVA) and pentaerythritol tetrakis(3-mercaptopropionate) (TT) were polymerised via a thiol-ene radical initiated photopolymerisation using emulsions with a high volume fraction of internal droplet phase and monomers in the continuous phase as precursors. The porous structure derived from the high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) followed the precursor emulsion setup resulting in an open porous cellularly structured polymer. Changing the emulsion composition and polymerisation conditions influenced the resulting morphological structure significantly.

Thiol-Ene Cross-linking of Poly(ethylene glycol) within High Internal Phase Emulsions: Degradable Hydrophilic PolyHIPEs for Controlled Drug Release.

Macroporous polymer monoliths prepared from high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) can be found in various biomedical applications. While typically water-in-oil HIPEs are applied for polyHIPE preparation, they are not suitable for hydrophilic polyHIPE preparation. Herein, direct oil-in-water emulsions based on water-soluble poly(ethylene glycol)diacrylate or poly(ethylene glycol)dimethacrylate were developed.