Synthesis of pH-responsive and adhesive super-absorbent hydrogel through bulk polymerization

Sodium acrylate (AANa) and hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) were synthesized by bulk polymerization technique to achieve a pH-responsive, super-absorbent hydrogel (SHG) copolymer. The synthesized copolymer was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. The pH responsive behavior of the SHG with different monomer ratios of HEMA and AA was investigated, and the SHG showed significant swelling properties at pH 7. The hydrogels were evaluated for the influences of crosslinking agent content, changes in the surface/cross-sectional morphology according to the degree of crosslinking, the water-absorbing properties of swellable SHG, and the adhesion properties to other polymer surfaces. The SHG hydrogel also exhibited good biocompatibility, low cytotoxicity, and high cell viability. The synthesized SHG hydrogel could be used for wound dressing materials in clinical applications requiring high absorption capacity when body fluids are heavily secreted from a wound site. Poly(AA-co-HEMA) hydrogels (SHG) may also have potential uses in biomedical applications such as wound healing and tissue engineering.