Synthesis and characterization of poly(methoxyl ethylene glycol-caprolactone-co-methacrylic acid-co-poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) pH-sensitive hydrogel for delivery of dexamethasone.

In this work, a novel pH-sensitive hydrogels based on macromonomer of methoxyl poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(caprolactone)-acryloyl chloride (MPEG-PCL-AC, PCE-AC), poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (MPEGMA), and methacrylic acid (MAA) were successfully synthesized by heat-initiated free radical polymerization method. The obtained macromonomers and hydrogels were characterized by (1)H NMR and FT-IR, respectively. Morphology study, swelling behavior, in vitro drug release behavior, acute oral toxicity of hydrogels, and cytotoxicity of PCE-AC macromonomer were also investigated in this paper. Finally, the hydrogels demonstrated that the sharp change in different pH value, thus believing to be promising the suitability of the candidate for oral drug-delivery systems. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.