Diffusion and Controlled Release Characteristics of Ph-Sensitive Poly(2-(Dimethyl Amino)ethyl Methacrylate-co-2-hydroxyethylacrylate) Hydrogels

The present work describes a facial development of pH-responsive hydrogels composed of 2-(dimethylamino)ethylmethacrylate and 2-hydroxyethylacrylate via free-radical polymerization at 29°C. The hydrogels were characterized by FTIR, SEM and XRD studies. The diffusional exponent (n), hydrogel network parameters such as average molecular weight between crosslinks (M_c) and polymer-solvent interaction (χ) were calculated by using swelling data. The hydrogels were encapsulated with 5-Fluorouracil, the in-vitro release data indicated that the maximum drug release was significantly achieved in pH 1.2 rather than in pH 7.4 and it was enhanced up to 30 h. These results suggested that the gels are highly useful for anticancer drug delivery applications.