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Evaluation of water properties in HEA–HEMA hydrogels swollen in aqueous-PEG solutions using thermoanalytical techniques

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Abstract

Hydrogels are polymeric materials used in many pharmaceutical and biomedical applications due to their ability to form 3D hydrophilic polymeric networks, which can absorb large amounts of water. In the present work, polyethylene glycols (PEG) were introduced into the hydrogel liquid phase in order to improve the mechanical properties of hydrogels composed of 2-hydroxyethylacrylate and 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEA–HEMA) synthesized with different co-monomer compositions and equilibrated in water or in 20 % water–PEG 400 and 600 solutions. The thermoanalytical techniques [differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG)] were used to evaluate the amount and properties of free and bound water in HEA–HEMA hydrogels. The internal structure and the mechanical properties of hydrogels were studied using scanning electron microscopy and friability assay. TG “loss-on-drying” experiments were applied to study the water-retention properties of hydrogels, whereas the combination of TG and DSC allowed estimating the total amount of freezable and non-freezing water in hydrogels. The results show that the addition of viscous co-solvent (PEG) to the liquid medium results in significant improvement of the mechanical properties of HEA–HEMA hydrogels and also slightly retards the water loss from the hydrogels. A redistribution of free and bound water in the hydrogels equilibrated in mixed solutions containing 20 vol% of PEGs takes place.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Rachel Armitage for help with recording SEM images. G. M. B. Tiguman acknowledges the “Science Without Boarders” student exchange program and the University of San Paulo, Brazil.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leicester School of Pharmacy, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK

    Ellen V. Hackl, Gustavo M. B. Tiguman & Irina Ermolina

  2. Reading School of Pharmacy, University of Reading, Reading, UK

    Vitaliy V. Khutoryanskiy

  3. Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universidade de Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Gustavo M. B. Tiguman

Authors
  1. Ellen V. Hackl
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  2. Vitaliy V. Khutoryanskiy
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  3. Gustavo M. B. Tiguman
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  4. Irina Ermolina
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Correspondence to Irina Ermolina.

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Hackl, E.V., Khutoryanskiy, V.V., Tiguman, G.M.B. et al. Evaluation of water properties in HEA–HEMA hydrogels swollen in aqueous-PEG solutions using thermoanalytical techniques. J Therm Anal Calorim 121, 335–345 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-015-4446-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-015-4446-y

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