Additives influence on water uptake and gelation behavior of poly (sodium acrylate) hydrogel nanocomposites

In this work, the effect of various additives such as cellulose, nanosilver and montmorillonite clay (nanoclay) on the rheological properties and water uptake of poly (sodium acrylate) hydrogels is studied. The drug release of such hydrogels was also investigated. In order to prepare a hydrogel, a dilute solution of sodium acrylate was prepared and methylene-bis-acrylamide, ammonium peroxydisulfate and TEMED were added to the solution as the crosslinking agent, initiator and accelerator, respectively. Poly (sodium acrylate) hydrogel was synthesized by the solution polymerization technique. The addition of nanoclay and nanosilver seemed to increase the gelation time of poly (sodium acrylate). The strength of gel was increased at the presence of cellulose. The formation of superficial and random volume fractal structures was investigated when incorporating fillers. The amount of drug released from the so-called hydrogels was also determined