Hydrogels as oral delivery dosage forms, methods of making and using same

A hydrogel comprising:

• multi-component backbone polymer chains comprising methacrylate and alkyl methacrylate monomers, and
• hydrolytically degradable linkages comprising hydrolytically degradable functional groups and poly(ethylene glycol) groups,
• wherein the hydrolytically degradable linkages are bound to and connecting methacrylate moieties of two or more of the multi-component backbone polymer chains, and wherein hydrolysis of the hydrolytically degradable functional groups releases the multi-component backbone polymer chains and poly(ethylene glycol) groups covalently bound thereto,
• and wherein the hydrogel completely hydrolyzes and dissolves in no more than 60 minutes when added to an aqueous buffer at pH 1.

A hydrogel comprising:

• (a) cross-linkers each comprising two or more methacrylate functional groups, and a linkage between the methacrylate functional groups, wherein the linkage comprises a hydrolytically degradable functional group;
• and
• (b) alkyl methacrylate monomers;
• wherein the methacrylate functional groups of the cross-linkers and the alkyl methacrylate monomers are polymerized to provide multi-component backbone polymer chains;
• wherein the cross-linkers comprise a central poly(ethylene glycol) segment of molecular weight no less than 150 g/mol with both terminal hydroxyl groups attached to an acetal functional group with a PEG methacrylate with a molecular weight no less than 174 g/mol;
• and wherein the multi-component backbone polymer chains are released upon degradation of the hydrolytically degradable functional group.