Aseriesofbiodegradablehydrogelsbasedondextranandpoly(L-glutamicacid)werefabricatedforeffectivevancomycinloadingandrelease.Thepreparationofhydrogelswassimplyachievedbyphotocross-linkingofmethacrylateddextranandpoly(L-glutamicacid)-g-hydroxyethylmethacrylate(PGH)inthepresenceofphotoinitiatorI2959.ThestructuresofhydrogelswerecharacterizedbyFTIRandSEM.Theswellingandenzymaticdegradationbehaviorsofhydrogelswereexaminedtobedependentonthepoly(L-glutamicacid)contentinthehydrogels.Thehighercontentofpoly(L-glutamicacid)inthegel,thehigherswellingratioandquickerdegradationwereobserved.Moreinterestingly,thehydrogelwithhigherPGHratioshowedhighervancomycin(VCM)loadingcontent,whichmightbeduetotheelectrostaticinteractionbetweencarboxylategroupsinhydrogelandammoniumgroupofVCM.InvitrodrugreleasefromtheVCM-loadedhydrogelsinaqueoussolutionexhibitedsustainedreleaseofVCMupto72h,whiletheinvitroantibacterialtestbasedontheVCM-loadedhydrogelshowedanefficientMethicillin-ResistantS.aureus(MRSA)inhibitionextendingoutto7days.Theseresultsdemonstratedthatthebiodegradablehydrogelswhichformedbyinsituphoto-crosslinkingwouldbepromisingasscaffoldsorcoatingsforlocalantibacterialdrugreleaseintissueengineering.
