A Study on the Thermal Responsive Behavior of Hydrogel Based Materials and their Potential Use in Medical Applications

Abstract

Hydrophilic gels called hydrogels are cross-linked materials that absorb large quantities of water without dissolving. Their tendency to absorb water is due to the presence of hydrophilic functional groups attached to the polymer backbone and their resistance to dissolution is justified by the presence of cross-links between network chains. Responsive polymers can exhibit reversible or irreversible changes in their chemical structures and/or physical properties to an external stimulus such as pH, temperature, ionic strength, light irradiation, mechanical forces, electric and magnetic fields etc. Existing temperature sensing devices are infeasible for usage in internal body orifices and its difficult for them to be integrated with an implant because of poor flexibility characteristics, inappropriate size, configuration and geometry. The proposed thermal responsive hydrogel based sensor offers the potential to address these issues by synthesizing and investigating the thermal responsive properties of Chitosan-PEG hydrogels. This study proves its basic sensing capability, characterizes it fully, helps understand its behavior and defines its sensing span.