Investigation of Swelling Behavior and Mechanical Properties of a pH-Sensitive Superporous Hydrogel Composite

The objective of the present study is to develop and investigate the swelling behavior of pH-sensitive Superporous Hydrogel (SPH) and SPH composite (SPHC). A novel superporous hydrogel containing poly (methacrylic acid-co-acrylamide) was synthesized from methacrylic acid and acrylamide through the aqueous solution polymerization, using N,N-methylenebisacrylamide as a crosslinker and ammonium persulfate as an initiator. SPHCs were made in the same way, except for the using of Ac-Di-Sol as a stabilizer. The synthesized SPH and SPHC were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, swelling kinetics, porosity, mechanical properties and scanning electron microscopy. The swelling of SPH and SPHC was sensitive towards the pH, ionic strength, and temperature stimuli. The study of the surface morphology of SPH using scanning electron microscopy showed a highly porous structure. SPH polymers showed higher swelling ratio but less mechanical stability compared to SPHC polymers, which showed lower swelling ratio but a higher mechanical stability. With a change in pH from acidic to basic, a considerable increase in swelling was observed. Since the prepared SPH and SPHC swell only in the basic pH, it may be concluded that SPH and SPHC can be used as the pH-sensitive drug delivery system.