Design and Synthesis of Photoreactive Polymers for Biomedical Applications - Biomimetics: Advancing Nanobiomaterials and Tissue Engineering - page 250

Photoreactive polymers

Characteristics Photocross-linking Micropatterning

Bio-nonfouling surface

• Stimuli-responsive surface
• Protein immobilization
• Microarray
• Biosealant, Bioadhesive

Applications • Cell structure

Figure 11.1 Characteristic points and biological and medical applications of
photoreactive polymers.

Photoreactive polymer

Photoirradiation

Polymer
reaction

Photoirradiation

Polymerization

Monomers

: Photoreactive group

Figure 11.2 Principles of preparing photosensitive crosslinkable biological and
synthetic polymers.

Synthesizing procedures are categorized into two groups, as shown in
Figure 11.2. One approach is the modifi cation of biological polymers with a
photoreactive group, and the other is the production of synthetic polymers
by copolymerization with a monomer carrying a photoreactive group.

11.2 UV-Reactive Biological Polymers

Biopolymer derivatives including proteins such as gelatin, and polysac-
charides including hyaluronic acid, heparin, chitosan, and pullulan, have