Abstract: A type of controlled-release drug hydrogels was prepared with curcumin as an original drug and polyvinyl alcohol as a carrier. The structure and performance of the as-prepared drug hydrogels were characterized by using balanced swelling and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The effects of drug-loading of the hydrogels were investigated by using the single factor and response surface methods， and the controlled-release properties of the drug hydrogels were evaluated through a standard curve. The experimental results indicated that the hydrogels obtained a maximum swelling rate of （171.53±0.21） % at 40 oC under the same conditions. Based on the single-factor method， the drug-loading of the hydrogels reached a maximum of （43.43±0.243 2） mg/g at 40 oC for 1.5 h under the initial curcumin concentration of 70 μg/mL. The results from the response surface analysis indicated that the initial concentration of curcumin generated the most significant effect on the drug-loading， followed with temperature. However， the adsorption time only had a relatively small effect on the drug-loading. In the phosphate buffered solution， the cumulative release rate of curcumin reached 88.1 %， indicating a certain controlled-release effect of the drug hydrogels.

Key words: curcumin, polyvinyl alcohol, hydrogel, response surface analysis, controlled-release