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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

A Freeze-Thawing Method to Prepare Chitosan-Poly(vinyl alcohol) Hydrogels Without Crosslinking Agents and Diflunisal Release Studies
Published on: January 14, 2020
Water and polymer dynamics in chemically cross-linked hydrogels of poly(vinyl alcohol): a molecular dynamics
Ester Chiessi1, Francesca Cavalieri, Gaio Paradossi
1Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Rome, Italy. ester.chiessi@uniroma2.it
Abstract:
A topologically extended model of a chemically cross-linked hydrogel of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) at high hydration degree has been developed for a molecular dynamics simulation with atomic detail at 323 K. The analysis of the 5 ns trajectory discloses structural and dynamic aspects of polymer solvation and elucidates the water hydrogen bonding and diffusion in the network. The features of local polymer dynamics indicate that PVA mobility is not affected by structural constraints of chemical junctions at the investigated cross-linking density, with a prevailing dumping effect due to water interaction. Simulation results are validated by a favorable comparison with findings of an incoherent quasi-elastic neutron scattering study of the same hydrogel system.
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