title: Tailoring of physical and chemical properties of macro- and microhydrogels based on telechelic PVA.
abstract: Poly(vinyl alcohol), PVA, is amenable to several structural modifications because of the presence of the hydroxyl moiety in the backbone. The chemical versatility of this polymer can be used for the obtainment of new wall-to-wall pH-responsive PVA chemical hydrogels and for the preparation of air-filled microspheres, for example, microbubbles. Here, we report on the characterization of the physical and chemical properties of these novel networks that can be potentially used in different biomedical applications as controlled drug delivery and as ultrasonic contrast agent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Rome Tor Vergata, UdR Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, Rome, Italy. paradossi@stc.uniroma2.it
authors.forename: Gaio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Paradossi
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cavalieri
authors.forename: Ester
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chiessi
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ponassi
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Martorana
mesh_terms: D020100:Hydrogels / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D008027:Light; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008863:Microspheres; D010316:Particle Size; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol