Authors: BASHIR AHMAD, SHUMAILA BASHIR, SHAMS-UN NISA, M. B. HUGLIN
Abstract: Crosslinked copolymers of various compositions of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (VP) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) were prepared chemically in the presence of a crosslinking agent. The swelling mechanism was non-Fickian with about 86% conversion of feed composition to crosslinked copolymer. The reactivity ratios r_1 = 0.045 and r_2 = 3.07 for VP and HEMA indicate that HEMA is more reactive than VP in the reaction. Hydrophilicity, hydrophobicity and monomer composition in the copolymer controlled the drug release from the hydrogels.
Keywords: N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, Hydrogels, Drug release
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