A pH-, thermo-, and glucose-, triple-responsive hydrogels: Synthesis and controlled drug delivery

In this work, a series of hydrogels were prepared by copolymerization of (2-dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and 3-acrylamidephenylboronic acid (AAPBA). The structure of the resultant hydrogels was studied by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The experimental results from swelling studies revealed that the hydrogels displayed definite glucose sensitivity under physiological conditions, as well as sharp changes in the mesh size of their network as a function of the pH and temperature of the swelling media. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was selected as a model compound when examining protein release from hydrogels. The results suggested that the temperature, pH and glucose concentration of buffer solutions greatly influenced release profiles.