| Abstract: | Sol‐gel reversible hydrogels sensitive to environmental glucose concentration were prepared using concanavalin A (Con A) and glucose‐containing polymers. Since the components of the hydrogels in the sol state can be released to the environment through pores of the dialysis membrane, it was necessary to immobilize Con A to the glucose‐containing polymers. Con A was immobilized by two different approaches. First, vinyl groups were introduced to Con A so that it can participate in the vinyl polymerization of allyl glucoside. Second, glucose‐containing polymers containing chemically reactive pendant groups were synthesized so that Con A could be immobilized to the preformed polymers. Both approaches resulted in effective immobilization of Con A to the glucose‐containing polymers, but the second method appeared to be better in terms of maintaining the bioactivity of Con A. |
