Paper Title
Self Swelling Dual Responsive Poly-(Acrylic Acid-Co-Acrylamide): A Novel Hydrogel in Drug Delivery System

Abstract
Polymers have been reported as ubiquitous materials on earth. Hydrogels include one of those types of polymers which can absorb and release ample amount of solvent. These hydrogels come from a superior class of Smart polymers which have gathered great value of interest in varieties of significant applications like drug delivery, tissue engineering etc. Poly-(acrylic acid-co-acrylamide) (PAA-co-AAm) a self swelling hydrogel was synthesised by free radical polymerisation. This hydrogel tends to absorb water above room temperature. It also exhibits a change in phase (hazy to clear) at higher temperature. Effect of change in amount of acrylamide was investigated to observe the fluctuation in absorption and desorption behaviour of hydrogel. The hydrogel with 4% acrylamide showed desorption from the onset of 40°C. This hydrogel was then tested for delivering Nexpro Fast 20 (antacid) in a simulated gastric fluid (SGF) pH=2.5. An increase in pH (2.5-3.65) of SGF was observed at a temperature of 40°C in 10 min. These observations suggested that PAA-co-AAm hydrogel can have a potential for transporting stomach specific drugs. Keywords - Hydrogels, Poly-(Acrylic Acid-co-Acrylamide), Simulated Gastric Fluid, Drug Delivery.