In this study, we synthesized poly(N-vinylcaprolactam)-g-collagen (PNVCL-g-Col) by grafting collagen with carboxyl group-terminated thermosensitive PNVCL-COOH. The resulting biopolymer was evaluated for its structural, thermal, and rheological properties. Aqueous solutions of PNVCL-g-Col exhibited a temperature-dependent phase transition around human physiological temperature (at ∼38.5 °C), and temperature-dependent tunability. PNVCL-g-Col exhibited temperature-dependent release of the model drugs, lidocaine hydrochloride and bovine serum albumin. Thus, PNVCL-g-Col biopolymer may have wide potential use in various biomedical applications, including controlled release and tissue engineering.
Keywords: LCST; Thermosensitive polymer; biopolymer; controlled release; poly(N-vinylcaprolactam)-g-collagen.