Long-term stable hydrogels for biorelevant dissolution testing of drug-eluting stents

Introduction Hydrogels consist of natural (e.g. alginate, collagen, agarose, agar) or synthetic (e.g. polyacrylamide/poly(acrylic acid) blends, poly(methacrylate), poly(ethylene oxide), poly(vinyl alcohol)) polymers forming insoluble three-dimensional scaffolds which enable the embedding of large amounts of aqueous media or body fluids. The ability to absorb and retain fluids leads to material properties such