Modified Carrageenan. 6. Crosslinked Graft Copolymer of Methacrylic Acid and kappa-Carrageenan as a Novel Superabsorbent Hydrogel with Low Salt- and High pH-Sensitivity

A novel, polysaccharide-based, superabsorbent hydrogel was synthesized through crosslinking graft copolymerization of methacrylic acid (MAA) onto kappa-carrageenan ($_{k}C$), using ammonium persulfate (APS) as a free radical initiator in the presence of methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as a crosslinker. A proposed mechanism for $_{k}C$­g-polymethacrylic acid ($_{k}C$-g-PMAA) formation was suggested and the hydrogel structure was confirmed using FTIR spectroscopy. The effect of grafting variables, including MBA, MAA, and APS concentration, was systematically optimized to achieve a hydrogel with the maximum possible swelling capacity. The swelling kinetics in distilled water and various salt solutions were preliminarily investigated. Absorbency in aqueous salt solutions of lithium chloride, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium chloride, and aluminum chloride indicated that the swelling capacity decreased with increased ionic strength of the swelling medium. This behavior can be attributed to the charge screening effect for monovalent cations, as well as ionic crosslinking for multivalent cations. The swelling of super absorbing hydrogels was measured in solutions with pH ranging from 1 to 13. In addition, the pH reversibility and on-off switching behavior, at pH levels of 3.0 and 8.0, give the synthesized hydrogels great potential as an excellent candidate for the controlled delivery of bioactive agents.