Photoinduced synthesis of fluorescent hydrogels without fluorescent monomers

A fluorescent monomer-free one-step strategy is developed for the synthesis of fluorescent acrylamide gels, using inexpensive and commercially available rhodamine B as the hydrogen donor in a type II photoinitiation system. The obtained hydrogels are fluorescent and have limited fluorophore leaching over time, due to the covalent bond formed between the polymer network and rhodamine dye.

Automated summary

A new strategy for synthesizing fluorescent acrylamide gels using a cost-effective and commercially available hydrogen donor, rhodamine B, in a type II photoinitiation system is developed. The resulting hydrogels are fluorescent and have limited fluorophore leaching over time due to the covalent bond formed between the polymer network and rhodamine dye.