New Thermo-Sensitive Hydrogel Based on Copolymer of 2-hydroxyethyl Acrylate and Ethyl Acrylate

Abstract

In this work firstly the thermo-sensitive polymer hydrogels were obtained by three-dimensional radical copolymerization of water-soluble HEA and hydrophobic monomer ethyl acrylate (EA) in the presence of crosslinking agent N,N’-methylenebisacrylamide (BAA). The hydrogels with certain copolymer compositions showed thermo-sensitive behavior in aqueous solutions. The regularity of complex formation of cross-linked copolymer HEA-EA with anionic and cationic surface-active substances have been studied. The swelling behavior of the hydrogels in cetylpyridinium bromide aqueous solutions was studied. Increased swelling of the hydrogels was observed in the surfactant solutions. The increased swelling was more prominent for the hydrogels with a higher content of the hydrophobic moiety in the copolymer composition and with the higher surfactant concentration. The reason for the observed phenomenon is discussed.