Tailoring of physical and chemical properties of macro- and microhydrogels based on telechelic PVA

Biomacromolecules. 2002 Nov-Dec;3(6):1255-62. doi: 10.1021/bm0256247.

Abstract

Poly(vinyl alcohol), PVA, is amenable to several structural modifications because of the presence of the hydroxyl moiety in the backbone. The chemical versatility of this polymer can be used for the obtainment of new wall-to-wall pH-responsive PVA chemical hydrogels and for the preparation of air-filled microspheres, for example, microbubbles. Here, we report on the characterization of the physical and chemical properties of these novel networks that can be potentially used in different biomedical applications as controlled drug delivery and as ultrasonic contrast agent.

MeSH terms

  • Hydrogels / chemical synthesis*
  • Hydrogels / chemistry
  • Light
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
  • Microspheres
  • Particle Size
  • Polyvinyl Alcohol / chemical synthesis*
  • Polyvinyl Alcohol / chemistry
  • Scattering, Radiation
  • Thermodynamics

Substances

  • Hydrogels
  • Polyvinyl Alcohol