Poly(vinylpyrrolidone) – A Versatile Polymer for Biomedical and Beyond Medical Applications

Abstract

The high versatility of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) can be explained by its diverse properties including its solubility in water and in a broad range of liquid media, high chemical and thermal resistance, and unique wetting, binding, and film-forming properties. Thanks to biocompatibility, absence of toxicity and high capacity to form interpolymer complexes, PVP is widely used for designing materials for different applications, such as biomaterials for medical and nonmedical uses. This review summarizes a vast diversity of applicative examples showing the tremendous opportunities for future research and developments of PVP based biomaterials.

Rheological investigation of poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) mixtures in aqueous solution and hydrogel state

“…According to previous investigations, at this polymer concentration both types of macromolecular chains are in the entangled state [2,11]. The shear flow behavior is Newtonian, the viscosity is independent on the shear rate.…”

“…In order to prepare materials for biomedical applications, an interesting partner for PVA is PVP [7][8][9][10]. This polymer has a long history in pharmaceutical and medical fields, being encountered in various forms as films, nanofibres or hydrogels for medical devices, drug delivery systems, contact lenses, orthopedics, dentistry, and many others [11]. PVA and PVP have been demonstrated to form a thermodynamically miscible pair [12,13], their chains interacting by hydrogen bonds due to hydroxyl groups of PVA and proton accepting carbonyl group of PVP ring.…”

Viscoelastic and structural properties of poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(vinylpyrrolidone) hydrogels

“…14,25 PVP was easily dissolved with mild stirring at room temperature, while PVA dissolution required a temperature higher than 80 C and vigorous stirring until the solution became homogenous. PVA and PVP solutions were prepared separately by dissolving the required amount of PVA and PVP in Millipore water, in order to obtain a solution with concentration of 15%.…”

“…6,14,21 The viscoelastic properties of PVA hydrogels obtained by freezing/thawing cycles 1 are comparable with that of articular and meniscal cartilage, these biomaterials having the ability to mimic the human tissue. 25 The ultraltration membranes with antifouling properties for water purication based on PVP modied polyethersulfone where PVP is used as a pore-former were obtained. [14][15][16][17]21,23,24 Poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) is an additive and a pore-former agent in membrane fabrication for biomedical applications, water purication, waste water treatment, desalination, food processing, gas separation, etc.…”

“…The addition of PVP into the PVA hydrogels improves the transparency and refractive index and inhibits cell adhesion which could determine the opacication of intraocular lens. 19,25 The aim of the present paper is to provide additional insight concerning the inuence of the polymer composition on the viscoelasticity, porosity and crystallinity of PVA/PVP hydrogels obtained by freezing/thawing method. 22 The crosslinked points are formed around the droplets in the emulsion and the pores result aer removing the organic solvent.…”