Responsiveness and Release Characteristic of Semi-IPN Hydrogels Consisting of Nano-Sized Clay Crosslinked Poly(Dimethylaminoethyl Methacrylate) and Linear Carboxymethyl Chitosan.

PH and temperature double responsive semi-IPN hydrogels consisting of poly(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) network crosslinked by nano-sized inorganic clay and linear carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) were synthesized by in situ, free radical polymerization in aqueous solution. The effect of the mass and carboxymethyl substitution of CMCS on the responsiveness, swelling/deswelling and drug release characteristic of gels were investigated. Comparing to the gels without CMCS, the resulting gels (named as C-NC gels) showed similar LCST and temperature response behavior. However, with the increase of added CMCS, the swelling ratio of gels decreased considerably around the isoelectric point (IEP) of CMCS, while increased in both strong acidic and alkaline condition. The deswelling rate was improved significantly when the content of CMCS is high. In drug load and release test by using theophylline as target, the C-NC gels exhibited an excellent load ability and controlled-release in simulated human intestinal and stomachic condition. Additionally, all properties of gels were affected by the DS of added CMCS due to the different ratio and interaction of negative and positive ions in gels.