Novel temperature sensitive cryogels of poly(ethoxytriethyleneglycol acrylate) (PETEGA), with in situ entrapped active substance, are synthesized employing the UV irradiation technique and tested as matrix for controlled release of the hydrophilic drug verapamil hydrochloride. PETEGA cryogels are non-toxic materials and, due to the macroporous structure, exhibit a reversible, ultra-rapid volume phase transition at temperature ca. 31 degrees C. Carriers based on PETEGA cryogels possess sustained release of verapamil hydrochloride over a period of more than 8 h, which is attributed to the hydrophobic state of the polymer network at physiological temperature and the method of drug immobilization. Drug release characteristics of PETEGA cryogels are compared with another cryogel systems, based on polyacrylamide (PAAm), poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) and poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA), obtained via the same method. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.