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Evaluating Polymer Characterization Methods to Establish a Quantitative Method of Compositional Analysis Using a
Antonio G Abbondandolo1, Anthony Lowman1, Erik C Brewer1
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ 08028, USA.
Polymers
|January 10, 2026
Summary
Advanced Polymer Chromatography (APC) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) accurately quantify polymer content in hydrogels. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) is accurate only at lower polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) concentrations due to structural changes.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Polymer Chemistry
- Analytical Chemistry
Background:
- Multi-component polymer hydrogels exhibit complex interactions, complicating precise compositional analysis.
- Accurate quantification of polymer content is crucial for understanding and optimizing hydrogel properties in biomedical applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Advanced Polymer Chromatography (APC), and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) for quantifying polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) in hybrid hydrogels.
- To identify the limitations and strengths of each analytical technique in complex polymer matrices.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of PVA/PEG/PVP hydrogels using a freeze-thaw method across varying PVA:PEG ratios.
- Quantification of polymer content using NMR, APC, and TGA.
- Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to analyze structural changes and hydrogen bonding.
Main Results:
- NMR and APC provided reliable quantification with low errors (2.77% and 2.01%, respectively), unaffected by phase separation or hydrogen bonding.
- TGA accurately quantified polymer content up to 62.5% PVA, but accuracy decreased at higher PVA concentrations due to altered thermal profiles from increased hydrogen bonding and crystalline restructuring.
- FTIR confirmed structural changes impacting TGA accuracy, indicated by shifts near 1140 cm-1 and in the -OH region.
Conclusions:
- APC offers a high-throughput, accurate alternative to NMR for analyzing multi-component polymer hydrogels.
- Understanding thermal and structural thresholds is critical for accurate TGA-based quantification of polymer hydrogels.
- This study provides a framework for characterizing complex polymer networks, particularly for biomedical hydrogel systems.
