Evaluation of the Sorption Properties of a Self-Adhesive Hydrogel Wound Dressing

Abstract

A novel self-adhesive wound dressing product was developed using a hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) hydrogel layered with a TAPE-gelatin bioadhesive. This wound dressing was then evaluated for its sorption properties through diffusion and swelling tests, and the parameters analyzed were hydrogel formulation, wound dressing thickness and adhesive layer thickness. Results showed that the wound dressing produced using 6% NaOH/5% thiourea in the crosslinking solution, with 2.5 mm hydrogel thickness, and 0.2 mm TAPE-gelatin thickness had the highest water absorbed. Lastly, analysis on swelling kinetics based on a previous study was conducted to determine the diffusion coefficients for the composite wound dressing.