Development of a novel porous cryo-foam for potential wound healing applications

Thomas J. Smith, James E. Kennedy, Clement L. Higginbotham

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This body of work describes the development of a porous hydrogel for wound healing applications. In the present study poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) based hydrogels were prepared, and their properties were examined. Varying concentrations of the polymers and distilled water were used to prepare the hydrogels. The use of a high shear mixer, for foaming the PVA and PVA/PAA gels, and how this physical change can affect the structure and porosity of the hydrogel in question, represents a key feature of this work. The mechanical and thermal properties were determined by parallel plate rheometry and modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) respectively. The results indicated that the hydrogels containing low concentration of PVA and high volume of H2O are significantly weaker than those synthesised with higher concentrations of PVA. The thermal analysis shows distinct endotherms and provides evidence of crystallisation. The chemical structure of the hydrogels was confirmed by means of attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1193-1199
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine
Volume20
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2009

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