Marie-Luise Trutschel

Hydrogels were prepared by Steglich esterification and by crosslinking pre-synthesized poly(sorbitol adipate)-graft-poly(ethylene glycol) mono methyl ether (PSA-g-mPEG) using different-chain-length-based disuccinyl PEG. PSA and PSA-g-mPEG were investigated for polymer degradation as a function of time at different temperatures. PSA-g-mPEG hydrogels were then evaluated for their most crucial properties of swelling that rendered them suitable for many pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. Hydrogels were also examined for their Sol-Gel content in order to investigate the degree of cross-linking. Physical structural parameters of the hydrogels were theoretically estimated using the modified Flory–Rehner theory to obtain approximate values of polymer volume fraction, the molecular weight between two crosslinks, and the mesh size of the hydrogels. X-ray diffraction was conducted to detect the presence or absence of crystalline regions in the hydrogels. PSA-g-mPEG hydrogels were then extensively examined for higher and lower molecular weight solute release through analysis by fluorescence spectroscopy. Finally, the cytotoxicity of the hydrogels was also investigated using a resazurin reduction assay. Experimental results show that PSA-g-mPEG provides an option as a biocompatible polymer to be used for pharmaceutical applications.