Effect of functional crosslinking agents on preparation and swelling properties of dextran hydrogels

Crosslinking reactions of Dextran (Dx) (Mn of 2.0×106 g mol−1) with some selective Cl-, and P-containing functional monomers such as epichlorohydrin (ECH) and phosphorus oxychloride (POC13) were carried out in the basic aqueous solutions (2.8 N NaOH) at 40 °C. The optimum conditions of the effective swelling and crosslinking for the each system studied were found in nickel (NiCl2·6H2O) solution. The percent swelling, equilibrium swelling, initial rate of swelling, swelling rate of constant, equilibrium water content, and diffusion type and constant values were evaluated for Dx/crosslinker (CL) systems at 1 mg/100 ml nickel (NiCl2·6H2O) solution. A substantial difference of these parameters observed for the various Dx/CL systems was explained by the effect of nature of crosslinking agents on the mechanism of crosslinking and swelling processes. It was shown that Seq values increase depending on the nature of CLs in the following order: ECH