2-Methoxy Aniline Grafted Poly(maleic anhydride-alt-butyl vinyl ether) Hemiester: A New Biocompatible Polymeric Free Radical Scavenger

Free radical scavenger biocompatible polymers are being used increasingly in biomedical applications due to their antioxidant activity. In this study, the biocompatible polymer poly(maleic anhydride-alt-butyl vinyl ether) 5% grafted with monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol) 2000 MW (PEG) and 95% grafted with 2-methoxyethanol (VAM41-PEG) was modified by inserting a conductive moiety represented by 2-methoxy aniline (mAn) in order to attribute to the polymer radical scavenger properties. Different reaction schemes were tested in order to maximize the reaction yield. The increase in the scavenger activity of the modified polymer was demonstrated by means of the DPPH center dot radical assay. Cytotoxicity tests, performed on the mAn modified polymeric matrix, were carried out using the mouse embryo fibroblast cell line balb/3T3 Clone A31. Results have shown that the introduction of mAn into VAM41-PEG polymeric structure does not alter its cytocompatibility.