A study of Kollicoat® MAE100P film's structure and properties

Generally, an organic-solvent-based film is denser and tougher than a corresponding aqueous-dispersion-based film. However, Kollicoat® MAE100P films prepared from aqueous dispersions had greater tensile strengths compared to the films cast from organic solutions. It was proposed that MAE100P polymer particles in aqueous media had a core-shell structure with a hydrophilic shell and a hydrophobic core. The hydrophilic shell was rich in ionized methacrylic acid (MAA) groups and the hydrophobic core primarily contained unionized MAA and ethyl acrylate (EA). As a result, ionized MAA formed a continuous phase which worked as a rigid frame and greatly improved the mechanical properties of aqueous-dispersion-based films. In order to prove this theory and investigate the effect of ionization level on this polymer system, the properties of pH, turbidity, zeta potential, and particle size of MAE100P dispersions were measured as a function of ionization level. The tensile strengths and thermal and mechanical properties of MAE100P films prepared from organic solution or aqueous dispersions of different ionization levels were investigated as well. FTIR was used to characterize the polymer films. Drug release in 0.1 N HCl from coated pellets was studied using the basket method. The experimental results showed that the original MAE100P polymer particles (if not specified, the ionization level is 6%) had a highly-charged surface. The properties of polymer aqueous dispersions were significantly changed by the ionization levels. Aqueous-dispersion-based MAE100P films or coats were stronger and comparable to or somewhat more effective in inhibiting drug diffusion than were organic-solvent-based coats. The tensile strength initially increased and then decreased with an increase of ionization level, while the water-uptake rate by the films continuously increased. Two endothermic peaks were observed in the DSC thermograms for cured MAE100P films. The high-T_g endothermic peak increased with an increase in ionization level, while the low-T_g peak didn't exhibit significant change except for the 18% ionization film. In the dynamic mechanical analysis, two relaxations in the storage modulus were observed in the aqueous-dispersion-based films. These data may suggest a two-phase structure in the form of a core-shell structure. The tensile-strength ratio for aqueous-dispersion-based films over organic-solvent-based films for MAE100P was close to that reported for films formed from polymer substances/particles with core-shell structures. In summary, the core-shell structure might result in a two-phase structure in the bulk MAE100P film prepared from aqueous dispersion. This special structure led to significantly-improved mechanical properties for aqueous-dispersion-based MAE100 films. The ionization levels had complicated effects on the polymer system by increasing the amount of ionic aggregates while also solubilizing the polymer and changing the mechanism of film formation.