Utilizing Alginate to Improve Elasticity and Moisture Balance of Polyvinyl Alcohol/Chitosan Hydrogel Wound Dressing

Abstract

Uncontrolled hemorrhage is the leading cause of death. The efficient hemostatic dressings are needed to promote coagulation and hold ongoing hemorrhage. Hydrogels are hydrophilic polymers with three-dimensional network structures with high swelling capacity to prevent accumulation of exudates. Hydrogels prepared from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) grafted with chitosan have attracted considerable attentions due to their biocompatibility, high moisture balance property, and transparency. In this study, alginate was utilized to improve elasticity and thermal stability, also enhance hydrophilicity and increase swelling ability. The hydrogels composed of PVA (7.5 % w/v), chitosan (0.05 % w/v), and alginate (0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 % w/v) were synthesized by gamma irradiation technique at total dose of 15 kGy. The results showed that the increasing of alginate concentration in the total reactant mixture can improve elasticity, swelling capacity and the equilibrium degree of swelling (EDS), and decrease water vapour transmitted rate/moisture vapour transmitted rate (MVTR). The hydrogel wound dressing with 0.6 % of alginate concentration was the best product in this study with 79.49 % gel content, 608.65 % swelling ratio, 628.32 % EDS in 22 hours, elasticity 62.58 KPa, evaporation rate (MVTR) 105g/m2 h, degraded at temperature of 298.89oC, and the weight loss was reached 88.84 % (w/w).