Rapid synthesis of high strength cellulose–poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) biocompatible composite films via microwave crosslinking

Abstract

The present study describes microwave (MW)-assisted rapid synthesis of biocompatible poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) composite films that demonstrate synergy between reinforcement and crosslinking. Bacterial cellulose (5% w/w) nanowhiskers (reinforcement) and tartaric acid 35% (w/w) (crosslinker) are incorporated in PVA to prepare crosslinked cellulose-PVA composite films. The properties of thus prepared crosslinked cellulose-PVA composite films are compared with samples crosslinked with conventional hot air oven heating (CH). Crosslinking by both of the methods reduces water absorption of PVA by around an order of magnitude and improves its thermal stability. An increase in strength from 42 (PVA) to 172 MPa and 159 MPa for MW and CH crosslinked samples, respectively is also observed. Although composites prepared using MW and CH show similar properties, MW takes only 14 min compared to 2 h in case of CH. Notably, the prepared composites demonstrate hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility, and may also be explored for biomedical applications.

Physically Crosslinked Hydrogels Based on Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) and Fish Gelatin for Wound Dressing Application: Fabrication and Characterization

“…PVA molecules would cross-linked physically under repeated freeze-thawing [15]. Compared with other synthetic polymers, PVA hydrogel possesses desirable physical properties such as good biodegradability [16], non-toxicity [17], and favorable mechanical strength [16,18], especially it is relatively cheap in contrast to many other synthetic polymers. However, single PVA hydrogel exhibits weak mechanical strength and insufficient swelling properties [19,20], which restrict its utilization as a dressing material [15].…”

Osteo-conductive hydrogel scaffolds of poly(vinylalcohol) with silk fibroin particles for bone augmentation: Structural formation and in vitro testing

“…Poly(vinylalcohol) (PVA) is widely used in tissue engineering because of its excellent physicochemical characteristics and biomechanical properties. 14 PVA has been fabricated into different forms, such as three-dimensional printing, electrospinning, and hydrogel scaffolds. 15 PVA hydrogel scaffolds are often fabricated by freeze-thawing which is an approach without the use of toxic chemical reagents.…”

Prestretching effect and recovery process of polyvinyl alcohol film crosslinked with tartaric acid

“…There are numerous research studies in the literature on the use of carboxylic acids for crosslinking. [13,14] However, there is no specific information in the literature about the advantage and disadvantages of tartaric acid (TA) usage. TA as a carboxylic acid, which occurs naturally in grapes, was used as a crosslinker in this study because it is nontoxic, inexpensive, [15] and easily soluble in cold water.…”