Drug Loaded Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) - Cellulose Composite Hydrogels for Wound Dressings

Abstract

Biodegradable and biocompatible synthetic polymers like poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) have attracted much attention for wound dressing applications. However, PVA hydrogel possesses insufficient strength and very limited hydrophilicity characteristics which restrict its use as a wound dressing polymeric material. In the present work a suitable wound dressing hydrogel films were prepared with PVA-cellulose using freezing-thawing method. Standard antibiotics (ciprofloxacin and streptomycin) and natural herbals such as turmeric and Tridax procumbens plant extract were incorporated in PVA-cellulose hydrogels and its wound healing properties were evaluated. The synthesized hydrogels were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectroscopy techniques. The mechanical strength, in-vitro swelling studies, water vapour transmission rate, gel fraction test, degradation and antibacterial tests were carried out to study its wound dressing characteristics. The PVA cellulose hydrogels with Tridax procumbens showed good swelling ability and optimum antibacterial effect against pathogenic organisms as similar to ciprofloxacin loaded hydrogels. From this study, it is evident that PVA cellulose hydrogels with addition of Tridax procumbens could be used as a potential wound dressing material.