Uptake and Release Kinetics Longevity in Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogels for Hydrophilic Drug Therapy

The uptake and release of target molecules were studied in hydrogels as a function of time over a month to determine what, if any, deviation exists in these properties. Through the use of spectroscopic techniques such as FT-IR and UV-vis-NIR in combination with drug release kinetics and swelling kinetics studies, both the effect of imprinting and the effect of time could be substantially analyzed for hydrogels. Molecular imprinting provides a significant advantage over nonimprinted hydrogel samples through the sustainment of a first-order release profile throughout the month without significant deviations in the releasable concentration, while nonimprinted samples struggle in their capability to be consistently load-cycled. Changes between the imprinted and nonimprinted samples are not evidenced to be significant chemical deviations; rather, they are attributable to functionality differences between the release mechanisms of these hydrogels.