• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.2635-2641
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• 2012

Novel silver/salep-g-poly(acrylic acid) nanocomposite hydrogel were prepared in aqueous solution using poly(acrylic acid) grafted onto salep as a biopolymer based material. FT-IR spectra confirmed that poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) had been grafted onto salep in graft copolymerization reaction. TEM observations showed that silver nanoparticles have been uniformly dispersed in polymeric matrix. Effects of pH, acrylic acid (AA) amount and silver ion concentration on swelling capabilities were investigated. Results indicate that modifying AA and silver ion can improve swelling properties of the resultant nanocomposite hydrogel. pH response of this nanocomposite hydrogel in acidic and neutral pH made it suitable for drug delivery applications.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.553-558
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• 2011

Copolymeric silver nanocomposite hydrogels were synthesized by using acryloyl phenylalanine (APA), N'-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) and crosslinked by N,N-methylene bisacrylamide (MBA) via radical redox polymerization. Present study allows entrapping silver nanoparticles into hydrogel networks. UV-visible spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies confirmed the formation of silver nanoparticles in hydrogel matrix. 11% of weight loss difference between hydrogel and silver nanocomposite hydrogel is clearly indicates the formation and silver nanoparticles by thermo-gravimetrical analysis. The order of swelling capacity values of hydrogels and silver nanocmposite hydrogels were found to be in the order of placebo copolymeric hydrogel >Ag-copolymeric silver nanocomposite hydrogels. The particle size of silver nanoparticles was analysed and are in the range of 5 - 10 nm which has been confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as well as particle size analysis. The silver nanocomposite hydrogel has shown very good antibacterial activity on gram-positive and gram-negative bacteriocides.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.17-23
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• 2015

Natural cellulose hydrogel membrane cannot be directly used for cell encapsulation because it has many large pores on the surface that immune biomolecules are able to penetrate into easily. For the reason, alginate was used for the control of pore size of the cellulose hydrogel membrane. The surface morphology of cellulose/alginate nanocomposite confirmed the successful control of the porosity of the membrane. The permeability of the cellulose/alginate nanocomposite was decreased but mechanical properties were increased compared with the bacterial cellulose membrane. The cellulose/alginate nanocomposite could be used for the functional membrane as a promising biomedical material in the future.

• Carbon letters
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.173-177
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• 2012

A drug delivery system (DDS) was prepared with a temperature and pH-responsive hydrogel. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/poly(acrylic acid) (PAAc)/poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm)/multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nanocomposites were prepared by radical polymerization for the temperature and pH-responsive hydrogels. MWCNTs were employed to improve both the thermal conductivity and mechanical properties of the PVA/PAAc/PNIPAAm/MWCNT nanocomposite hydrogels. Various amounts of MWCNTs (0, 0.5, 1 and 3 wt%) were added to the nanocomposite hydrogels. PVA/PAAc/PNIPAAm/MWCNT nanocomposite hydrogels were characterized with a scanning electron microscope. The mechanical properties were measured with a universal testing machine. Swelling and releasing properties of nanocomposite hydrogels were investigated at various temperatures and pHs. Temperature and pH-responsive release behavior was found to be dependent on the content of MWCNTs in nanocomposite hydrogels.

• Carbon letters
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.211-215
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• 2010

Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanocomposite hydrogels were prepared by freezingthawing method for the electro-responsive transdermal drug delivery. MWCNTs were used as the functional ingredient to improve both mechanical and electrical properties of MWCNT/PVA nanocomposite hydrogels. The morphology of nanocomposites revealed the uniform distribution of MWCNTs and the good interfacial contact. The compression moduli of hydrogel matrices increased greatly from 40 to 1500 kPa by forming MWCNT/PVA nanocomposites. The swelling ratio of MWCNT/PVA nanocomposites decreased as the content of MWCNTs increased under no electric voltage applied. However, the swelling ratio of MWCNT/PVA nanocomposites increased as the content of MWCNTs increased under electric voltage applied and the applied electric voltage increased. The drug was released in the electro-responsive manner through the skin due to the electro-sensitive swelling characteristics of MWCNT/PVA nanocomposite hydrogels.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.307-312
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• 2009

Core-shell hydrogel nanocomposite was fabricated by encapsulating a silica-gold nanoshell (SGNS) with poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) (PNIPAM-co-AAc) copolymer. The oleylamine-functionalized SONS was used as a nanotemplate for the shell-layer growth of hydrogel copolymer. APS (ammonium persulfate) was used as a polymerization initiator to produce a hydrogel-encapsulated SGNS (H-SGNS). The amounts of NIPAM (N-isopropylacrylamide) monomers were optimized to reproduce the hydrogel-encapsulated SGNS. The shell-layer thickness was increased with the increase of polymerization time and no further increase in the shell-layer thickness was clearly observed over 16 h. H-SGNS exhibited the systematic changes of particle size corresponding to the variation of pH and temperature, which was originated from hydrogen-bonding interaction between PNIPAM amide groups and water, as well as electrostatic forces attributed by the ionization of carboxylic groups in acrylic acid.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.201-208
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• 2019

Superabsorbent hydrogel (SAH) is a lightly crosslinked hydrophilic functional polymer material comprising a flexible chain structure, which can absorb and retain high amounts of water or aqueous fluids even under high pressure. Therefore, it is important to improve their characteristics such as absorption performance, residual monomer content, and water permeability. SAH nanocomposites were prepared using clay mineral as an inorganic filler and the influence of post-treatment processes such as quenching and aging process on their properties was studied. In addition, surface-crosslinking process was applied to improve the absorption performance associated with mechanical properties and water permeability. The structure of the SAH was characterized using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, and scanning electron microscopy.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.3191-3195
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• 2012

New silver nanoparticle (AgNP)-loaded amino acid based hydrogels were synthesized successfully from poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly(acryl amide-co-acryloyl phenyl alanine) (PAA) by redox polymerization. The formation of AgNP in hydrogels was confirmed by using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer and XRD. The structure and morphology of silver nanocomposite hydrogels were studied by using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which demonstrated scattered nanoparticles, ca. 10-20 nm. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed large differences of weight loss (i.e., 48%) between the prestine hydrogel and silver nanocomposite. The antibacterial studies of AgNP-loaded PAA (Ag-PAA) hydrogels was evaluated against Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) bacteria. These Ag-PAA hydrogels showed significant activities against all the test bacteria. Newly developed hydrogels could be used for medical applications, such as artificial burn dressings.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2014

Background: Hydrogels are a class of polymers that can absorb water or biological fluids and swell to several times their dry volume, dependent on changes in the external environment. In recent years, hydrogels and hydrogel nanocomposites have found a variety of biomedical applications, including drug delivery and cancer treatment. The incorporation of nanoparticulates into a hydrogel matrix can result in unique material characteristics such as enhanced mechanical properties, swelling response, and capability of remote controlled actuation. Materials and Methods: In this work, synthesis of hydrogel nanocomposites containing magnetic nanoparticles are studied. At first, magnetic nanoparticles ($Fe_3O_4$) with an average size 10 nm were prepared. At second approach, thermo and pH-sensitive poly (N-isopropylacrylamide -co-methacrylic acid-co-vinyl pyrrolidone) (NIPAAm-MAA-VP) were prepared. Swelling behavior of co-polymer was studied in buffer solutions with different pH values (pH=5.8, pH=7.4) at $37^{\circ}C$. Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles ($Fe_3O_4$) and doxorubicin were incorporated into copolymer and drug loading was studied. The release of drug, carried out at different pH and temperatures. Finally, chemical composition, magnetic properties and morphology of doxorubicin-loaded magnetic hydrogel nanocomposites were analyzed by FT- IR, vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results: The results indicated that drug loading efficiency was increased by increasing the drug ratio to polymer. Doxorubicin was released more at $40^{\circ}C$ and in acidic pH compared to that $37^{\circ}C$ and basic pH. Conclusions: This study suggested that the poly (NIPAAm-MAA-VP) magnetic hydrogel nanocomposite could be an effective carrier for targeting drug delivery systems of anti-cancer drugs due to its temperature sensitive properties.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2009

We report the template-based synthesis of well-dispersed CdS nanoparticles (NPs) in the interior of poly (2-acetamidoacrylic acid) (PAAA) hydrogel as a novel type of nanocomposite without particle aggregation via ion exchange in a aqueous system. As revealed by the TEM image analysis, the mean crystallite diameter of CdS NPs embedded in hydrogel composite was 4.5 nm, and the composite did not suffer any observable change after 6 months. Desorption/decomposition of CdS/PAAA hydrogel composite was studied by evolved gas analysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (EGA-GC-MS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) methods. From the TGA data, the thermal stability of the composite system increased by ca. 100 $^\circ$C and the content of CdS NPs in a dry composite gel was over 70 wt%. In addition, the chemical pathway was proposed for the entire decomposition process.