Synthesis and characterization of cryogels of p(HEMA-N-vinylformamide) and p(HEMA-N-Vinylpyrrolidone) for chemical release behaviour

Macroporous polymeric gels has received great attention in many fields focused on biotechnological applications. In this study, two new HEMA-based cryogel columns were synthesized. To this end, poly(HEMA-VF) and poly(HEMA-NVP) cryogels were prepared by copolymerization of 2-Hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) with N-vinylformamide (VF) and N-vinylpyrrolidone (VP) in the presence of N,N-methylenebisacrylamide (as cross-linker), then polymerization initiated by ammonium persulfate (APS) and N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylenediamine (TEMED) with free-radical polymerizations method in cryogelation conditions, respectively. p(HEMA-VF) and p(HEMA-VP) cryogels contain a continuous polymeric matrix with interconnected pores of size 2–100 μm. Swelling behavior for these cryogels in various solvents was investigated, wherein the characterization of the cryogels is conducted via by surface area measurement (BET), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). As drug model compounds, Methyl Red (MR), methylene blue (MB) and methylene green (MG) were loaded into prepared cryogels and the controlled release properties of cryogel columns were examined comparatively each other. It has been shown that approximately 90% of its release from the cryogels occurred within about 2 h. In addition, MB release from p(HEMA-VF) and p(HEMA-VP) cryogels was found to be around 80% over a similar period. The proposed cryogels can be regarded as controlled release system on future biomedical applications.