Rheological Investigation of Pluronic F127/PVA Mixtures in Aqueous Solution and Gel State

This study presents some rheological investigations concerning the temperature induced gelation for mixtures of Pluronic F127 and poly(vinyl alcohol) in aqueous solutions. At room temperature the polymer mixtures behave as viscous fluids and under physiological conditions they exhibit solid-like properties (elastic hydrogels). For a better understanding of the interactions between the two polymers in aqueous solutions, viscometric measurements were performed at 37 °C for different polymer compositions. It was found that the polymer–polymer interactions between like or unlike macromolecules influence the final properties of hydrogels. The transition from the sol state to soft or hard hydrogel depends on the polymer mixture composition and thermodynamic conditions.