Synthesis and Characteristics of Interpenetrating Polymer Network Hydrogels Based on Silicone and Poly(vinyl alcohol)

Hydrogels have become increasingly important for use in the biomedical field. They are used diagnostic, therapeutic and implantable devices(e.g. catheter, biosensor, artificial skin, controlled release drug delivery system and contact lenses). Also silicone derivatives are widely used owing to their favorable properties such as low-glass transition temperature, high gas permeability, high thermal stability and good biocompatibility. We have studied the interpenetrating polymer networks(IPN) by previous reports, and to report on the preparation and properties of poly(vinyl alcohol), (PVA) and vinyl terminated polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS) IPN hydrogel in this presentation. The IPN composed of PVA and PDMS was synthesized by the following method. PVA was dissolved in the water to make 10wt% aqueous solution. And PDMS was mixed with 0.5wt% 2,2-dimethyl-2-phenylacetophenone(DMPAP) and 0.5mol% methylenebis acrylicamide(MBAAm). This mixture was added to PVA aqueous solution and heated at 90oC for 3hrs. Various IP{Ns were prepared from different mol ratios of PVA/PDMS. Hydrogels obtained were characterized by using FT-IR, wide angle X-ray diffractometry(WAXD), differential scanning calorimetry(DSC), dielectric analysis(DEA), and equilibrium water content(EWC).