Preparation of chemically crosslinked gels with maleate‐denatured poly(vinyl alcohol) and its application to drug release

Maleate‐denatured poly(vinyl alcohol) (M‐PVA) was crosslinked with heating. The mechanism of crosslinking was studied with several procedures: titration, Fourier transform infrared, and solubility. The carboxyl groups of M‐PVA consisted of carboxylates and a few free carboxyl groups. The crosslink was the ester linkage between hydroxyl and carboxyl groups. Several kinds of M‐PVA tablets were prepared under different conditions: pressures of 200–600 kgf/cm 2 and grain sizes of 75 (pass) to 250 μm (on). The swelling behavior of these chemically crosslinked tablets was studied in a buffer solution of pH 7.4, mainly at 37°C. Moreover, the effect of temperature from 5 to 50°C and the effect of repeated swell–dry cycles on the behavior of the tablets in a buffer solution [106 μm (on), 200 kgf/cm 2 ] were studied. The release of p ‐acetamidophenol from those tablets in the pH 7.4 buffer solution was studied. The different release patterns were due to the differences in the swelling behavior. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 1178–1184, 2002; DOI 10.1002/app.10411