Hydorgels have been traditionally used in various industries as superabsorbent polymers. In the past few years its applications intensified by emerging hot topics such as tissue engineering and drug delivery. Polyethylene oxide (PEO) and its lower molecular weight brothers, polyethylene glycol (PEG), are gaining interest due to their biocompatibility and FDA approval. This steady grow of popularity of Hydrogels and PEO in academia and industry has not been addressed in a proper way. Many scientists are not familiar with different methods of synthesis and characterization of hydrogels.
This book, therefore, provides the methods of synthesis and characterization including, postpolymerization (curing), swelling, mechanical and theoretical measurements as well as dynamic mechanical analysis. The content should help shed some light on this exciting and fast growing topic, and should be especially useful for professionals in Chemical engineering, Biomedical engineering, Materials Science, Pharmacy and Medicine.