Study on synthesis and chloramphenicol release of poly(2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate-co-acrylamide) hydrogels

In this article, poly(2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate-co-acrylamide) hydrogels were synthesized by bulk free-radical copolymerization of 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA) and acrylamide (AAm) for soft contact lens(SCL)-based ophthalmic drug delivery system. The copolymer was characterized with FT-IR and SEM, the swelling property of the hydrogels were Studied by gravimetrical method, and chloramphenicol was used as a model drug to investigate drug release profile of the hydrogels. The results showed that poly(2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate-co-acrylamide) hydrogels were transparent and useful SCL biomaterial, the water content increased as AAm content increase and pH decrease, and in the same way, hydrogel composition affected chloramphenicol release process too. Migration rate of chloramphenicol increased as the AAm content in the hydrogels increased in the first stage of diffusion process, whereas there was no significant difference thereafter.