Polyalkylene fumarate have been widely regarded as one of the most promising injectable, in-situ crosslinkable, and biodegradable medical polymers. In this study, materials based on a poly (butylene fumarate) (PBF) matrix were synthesized using hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) as a crosslinking monomer. The crosslinked cured materials with different mass ratios were systematically compared in terms of their composition, gel content, hydrophilicity, thermal properties, adhesive strength, and in vitro degradation behavior. The gel content test results showed that the gel content of the samples exceeded 82%. The crosslinked materials demonstrated good thermal stability, with initial decomposition temperatures ranging from 300.40 to 321.90 °C. Additionally, the hydrophilicity and in vitro degradation behavior of the crosslinked cured materials were systematically evaluated. The contact angles of the materials ranged from 70.73 ± 2.61 to 87.36 ± 7.87°. Furthermore, the bonding strength of the synthesized materials was found to range from 1.53 ± 0.41 to 37.58 ± 0.97 MPa. After 12 weeks of immersion in PBS, the weight loss and degradation rate of the crosslinked materials showed some fluctuations, with a maximum mass loss of approximately 7.28%. PBF/HEMA scaffolds supported enhanced MC3T3-E1 cell proliferation while exhibiting low cytotoxicity, indicating favorable biocompatibility. These results indicate that the synthesized PBF/HEMA materials exhibit good biocompatibility and are suitable for biomedical applications.
Wang et al. (2026) studied this question.