Charge-balanced terpolymer poly(diethylaminoethyl methacrylate-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-2-acrylamido-2-methyl-propanesulfonic acid) hydrogels and cryogels: scaling parameters and correlation with composition

The scaling laws relating the preparation conditions to the swelling degree, reduced modulus and effective crosslinking density of poly(diethylaminoethyl methacrylate-co-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-2-acrylamido-2-methyl-propanesulfonic acid), henceforth designated as PDHA, gels prepared by radical crosslinking copolymerization in a solvent mixture were reported. Charge-balanced terpolymer PDHA hydrogels and cryogels (PDHA-Hgs and Cgs) were prepared in different monomer feed compositions. The swelling dependence of the reduced modulus was described by a power law relationship G_r≈ (φ_V)^m with an exponent of m = -0.30 at low swelling degree, while in the high swelling region the scaling becomes 0.21, indicating the finite extensibility of the network chains. The scaling exponent for the swelling degree and terpolymer composition, φ_V≈ (Nν)^m, was found to be -0.13, indicating the increasing extent of the topological constraints arising from the trapped entanglements. By combining elasticity and swelling results, the scaling relationship between the apparent crosslink density and HEMA content used in the terpolymer feed was obtained as a cubic polynomial of the mol% of HEMA. In the HEMA-rich terpolymer PDHA Hgs and Cgs, the swelling degree was possibly controlled by the HEMA part of the terpolymer network, while the presence of DEAEM units in the network triggered the thermoresponsive swelling behavior. The dependence of interaction parameter χ on the volume fraction of the crosslinked terpolymer network in the swollen gel ν₂ was evaluated and the results revealed extremely strong concentration dependence of χ for all terpolymer samples. Because of their inherent properties, the resulting terpolymer gels might contribute to the improvement of the loading capacity of polymers used in anticancer drug delivery systems.

Poly(N-vinylimidazole)-l-poly(propylene glycol) amphiphilic conetworks and gels: molecularly forced blends of incompatible polymers with single glass transition temperatures of unusual dependence on the composition

New molecularly forced blends of incompatible poly(N-vinylimidazole) and poly(propylene glycol) polymers with single glass transition temperatures.

Structurally-defined semi-interpenetrating amphiphilic polymer networks with tunable and predictable mechanical response

Structurally-defined, 1,2-bis-(2-iodoethoxy)ethane (BIEE)-crosslinked semi-interpenetrating amphiphilic polymer networks were synthesized, exhibiting tunable and predictable mechanical response based on mathematical modeling.

Mechanical properties of structurally-defined magnetoactive polymer (co)networks

Magnetic nanoparticle loading increases mechanical properties of structurally-defined magnetoactive polymer (co)networks.

Unexpected thermal decomposition behavior of poly(N-vinylimidazole)-l-poly(tetrahydrofuran) amphiphilic conetworks, a class of chemically forced blends

The underlying chemical processes of the unexpected thermal decomposition behavior of poly(N-vinylimidazole)-l-poly(tetrahydrofuran) amphiphilic conetworks were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis and thermogravimetry-mass spectrometry.