The Study of the Swelling Degree of the PVA Hydrogel with varying concentrations of PVA

Abstract

Hydrogel is composed of a three-dimensional network of hydrophilic polymers and can swell when placed in an aqueous media. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a common polymer used to produce hydrogels because it has biocompatibility, non-toxicity, chemical stability, low cost, and excellent mechanical strength. In this study, the PVA solutions were prepared with concentrations of 6%, 8%, 10%, and 12% in distilled water. The precursor solutions underwent a freeze-thaw cycle with a freezing temperature of -25 °C for 20 hours and a thawing temperature of 37 °C for 4 hours and carried out for 6 cycles. The swelling degree and the gel fraction of the hydrogel were then determined. From the swelling degree results, the increase of the PVA concentration in the precursor solutions reduced the swelling degree of the hydrogel. Based on the gel fraction test, it was revealed that all PVA concentrations have approximately the same value of gel fraction at 97%. Additionally, the viscosity and the density were also measured. Both showed an increasing trend with the addition of PVA concentration, where the viscosity values from the smallest to highest concentrations were 12.4944, 34.1737, 93.8491, and 216.2979 cP while the density values were 0.9865, 0.9871, 0.9878, and 0.9885 gram.cm-3.

Effects of the Degree of Phenol Substitution on Molecular Structures and Properties of Chitosan-Phenol-Based Self-Healing Hydrogels

“…The root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) was employed to determine whether the system had reached equilibrium, and then the equilibrium state was corroborated by observing the changes in end-to-end distance and radius of gyration over time, as shown in Figure S1. For our model, the system density was calculated with the experimental water gel density, as shown in Figure S2, and the result was consistent with the experimental value of 1 g/cm 3 . , This comparison demonstrates the credibility of our simulation approach in describing the spatial structure and intermolecular interactions within the system.…”

“…For our model, the system density was calculated with the experimental water gel density, as shown in Figure S2, and the result was consistent with the experimental value of 1 g/cm 3 . 56,57 This comparison demonstrates the credibility of our simulation approach in describing the spatial structure and intermolecular interactions within the system. By using two different methods to measure chitosan-phenol and DB-PEO, viz.…”

Freeze–thaw hydrogel fabrication method: basic principles, synthesis parameters, properties, and biomedical applications

“…Previous studies have shown the effect of variations in solution concentration of the polymer on hydrogel properties. Syifa et al found that with decreasing PVA concentration, the resulting hydrogel became softer but the swelling value increased [80]. Research by Waresindo and Edikresnha showed the same conclusion when loading PVA hydrogel with guava leaf extract and red betel extract [79,81].…”

“…The concentration of a polymer solution is expressed as the weight ratio of the polymer to the solvent. Decreasing the polymer concentration in the solution will decrease the viscosity of the solution and reduce the cross-linking density of the hydrogel, which results in a softer gel [79,80]. Previous studies have shown the effect of variations in solution concentration of the polymer on hydrogel properties.…”

Composite Hydrogel of Poly(vinyl alcohol) Loaded by Citrus hystrix Leaf Extract, Chitosan, and Sodium Alginate with In Vitro Antibacterial and Release Test

“…On the other hand, synthetic polymers generally have strong mechanical properties but usually poor biological activity . An example of synthetic polymers that have been used to synthesize hydrogels is poly­(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) . PVA is soluble in water, and it can be used to form a hydrogel by means of the freeze–thaw technique .…”