Investigating the Effect of the Crosslinking Factor on the Properties of Hydrogel Materials Containing Tilia platyphyllos Hydrolate

Abstract

The use of natural ingredients in recent years has been of great importance in many industries and medicine. In biomedical applications, hydrogel materials also play a significant role. In view of this, the aim of this study was to synthesize and characterize hydrogel materials enriched with broadleaf linden hydrolate. An important aspect was to carry out a series of syntheses with varying types and amounts of crosslinking agents so as to test the possibility of synthesizing materials with controlled properties. The obtained hydrogels were subjected to detailed physicochemical analysis. The results of the tests confirmed the relationship between the selected properties and the type of crosslinking agent used. A crosslinking agent with a lower molar mass (575 g/mol) results in a material with a compact and strongly crosslinked structure, which is characterized by high surface roughness. The use of a crosslinking agent with a molecular weight of 700 g/mol resulted in a material with a looser-packed polymer network capable of absorbing larger amounts of liquids. The work also proved that regardless of the type of crosslinking agent used, the addition of linden hydrolate provides antioxidant properties, which is particularly important in view of the target biomedical application of such materials.