SYNTHESIS OF NONIONIC AND ANIONIC HYDROGELS BEARING A MONOSACCHARIDE RESIDUE AND THEIR PROPERTIES

Nonionic hydrogels bearing glucoside residues were synthesized by free -radical copolymerization of glucosylethyl methacrylate (GEMA) and N,N '-methylenebisacrylamide (BisA) at 0-degrees-C for 2 h using ammonium peroxodisulfate and N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine as the initia tor. The cross-linked polymer gel was obtained quantitatively. The non ionic gels absorbed 30 times as much water as their own weight. Copoly merization of GEMA, sodium acrylate, and BisA gave anionic hydrogels, which absorbed ca. 100 times as much water as their own weight at pH 6 .5. The swelling behavior of the nonionic and the anionic hydrogels be aring glucose residues was studied in detail. (C) 1994 John Wiley & So ns, Inc.