A facile preparation of pH-temperature dual stimuli-responsive supramolecular hydrogel and its controllable drug release

A series of pH-temperature dual stimuli-responsive random copolymers poly[ N,N -dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate- co -poly(poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate][poly(DMAEMA- co -MPEGMA)] were synthesized by free radical polymerization. The supramolecular hydrogel was formed by pseudopolyrotaxane, which was prepared with the host-guest interactions between α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) side chains. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H NMR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the structures of the hydrogels. The pH-temperature dual stimuli responsive properties of the hydrogels were characterized by rheometer. Finally, the controllable drug release behavior of the hydrogel, which was used 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) as the model drug, was investigated at different temperatures and different pH values. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133 , 43279.