Dynamic and equilibrium swelling behaviour of pH-sensitive hydrogels containing 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate.

The equilibrium and dynamic swelling behaviour of hydrogels containing methacrylic acid or various acrylamides was studied as a function of copolymer composition. In all cases, the comonomer was 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, methyl methacrylate or N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone. It is shown that pH-sensitive behaviour with a wide range of swelling ratios could be obtained using a range of compositional changes. The dynamic swelling behaviour was a function of the acidity of the buffered solution.