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Preparation and characterization of pH-sensitive hydrogel microparticles as a biological on–off switch

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Abstract

The pH-responsive swelling and release behaviors of anionic P(MAA-co-EGMA) hydrogel microparticles having various MAA and EG contents were investigated as a biological on–off switch for the design of an intelligent drug delivery system triggered by external pH changes. When DC was used as a dispersion stabilizer, well-dispersed hydrogel microparticles having an average diameter of approximately 4 μm were obtained. There was a drastic change of the equilibrium weight swelling ratio of P(MAA-co-EGMA) hydrogels at a pH of around 5, which is the pK a of PMAA. When the MAA content in the hydrogel increased, the swelling ratio increased at a pH above 5 due to the more electrostatic repulsion between the charged groups of MAA. The P(MAA-co-EGMA) hydrogel microparticles showed a pH-responsive release behavior. At low pH (pH 4.0) small amounts of Rh-B were released while at high pH (pH 6.0) relatively large amounts of Rh-B were released from the hydrogels. The difference in the released amount of Rh-B from the hydrogels between pH 4.0 and 6.0 decreased when the MAA content in the hydrogels decreased, which means that the pH-responsive release behavior of the P(MAA-co-EGMA) hydrogel microparticles is closely related to the pH-responsive swelling property of the hydrogel.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by 2010 Hongik University Research Fund and the Grant of Small and Medium Business Administration, Republic of Korea (No. S1065960).

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  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Hongik University, 72-1, Sangsu-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, 121-791, Korea

    Eunmi Lee & Bumsang Kim

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  1. Eunmi Lee
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  2. Bumsang Kim
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Correspondence to Bumsang Kim.

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Lee, E., Kim, B. Preparation and characterization of pH-sensitive hydrogel microparticles as a biological on–off switch. Polym. Bull. 67, 67–76 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-010-0403-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-010-0403-x

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