Swelling behavior of a blend hydrogel made of poly(allylguanidino-co-allylamine) and poly(vinyl alcohol)

Abstract

A hydrogel was prepared by mixing poly(allylguanidino-co-allylamine) hydrochloride (PAG) with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and repeatedly freezing and thawing the blend. The swelling behavior of the hydrogel was investigated as a function of the pH and ionic strength of the medium. In a salt-free aqueous medium, a size of the hydrogel was reduced below pH 3 and above pH 10, but the size was little affected in the pH range 3 ≈ 10. In a medium of constant ionic strength (μ = 0.1), the hydrogel's pH response was different: it was significantly reduced in size above pH 9, but the size was affected only moderately below pH 9. When the ionic strength of medium was varied at a fixed pH, the size change of the hydrogel was gradual. All these phenomena could be understood by observing that PAG displayed multiple protonation states due to pH and that the electrostatic interactions among the charges on the polymer backbone are shielded by the added electrolyte as the ionic strength of the medium is raised.