Thermoresponsive hydrogels of hydrophobically modified polyglycidol
AbstractSynthesis, swelling properties and thermoresponsive behavior of a new class of hydrogels based on high molar mass polyglycidol are presented. High molar mass polyglycidol was synthesized by coordination polymerization. Thermosensitive poly(glycidol-co-glycidyl ethyl carbamate)s were obtained via a simple chemical modification of the polyglycidol with ethyl isocyanate. Polyglycidol and poly(glycidol-co-glycidyl ethyl carbamate)s were chemically crosslinked in DMF solution using oligomeric poly(ethylene glycol)-bis-(carboxymethyl ether chloride) as crosslinking agent. The hydrogels of degree of swelling of over 1000% were obtained. Thermoresponsive properties of the networks and the swellingdeswelling behavior of hydrogels in response to cyclic changes of the temperature were studied.