Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol.73, No.10, 1955-1967, 1999
pH-thermoreversible hydrogels. II. Synthesis and swelling behaviors of N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid-co-sodium acrylate hydrogels
A series of pH-thermoreversible hydrogels are prepared from the three molar ratios of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) and acrylic acid neutralized 50 mol % by sodium hydroxide (SA50) and N,N'-methylene bisacrylamide (NMBA). The influence of the environmental conditions, such as temperature and pH values, on the swelling behavior of these copolymeric gels is also investigated int;his article. Results show that the hydrogels bearing negative charges exhibit different equilibrium swelling ratios under various pH media. The pH sensitivities of these gels also strongly depend on the molar ratio of SA50 in the copolymeric gels; thus, the more the SA50 content, the higher the gel pH sensitivity. These hydrogels exhibited thermosensitivity demonstrating a larger change of the equilibrium swelling ratio in aqueous media under temperature changes. An overshooting phenomenon is observed from the gel swelling kinetics under high-temperature conditions. The said hydrogels are also used to investigate the release of model drugs in this study.
Keywords:THERMALLY REVERSIBLE HYDROGEL;SENSITIVE HYDROGELS;PENETRANTDIFFUSION;SWELLABLE POLYMERS;GELS;RELEASE;WATER;IMMOBILIZATION;NETWORKS;DELIVERY