Studies on Mechanical and Antithrombogenic Behaviors of Polyvinyl Alcohol and Gelatin Based Novel Binary Polymer Blends with Grafted Polyacrylamide Chains

Abstract

The aim of this study was to design a hydrophilic but mechanically strong macromolecular matrix to discover possible application as polymer scaffolds for tissue engineering and wound healing dressings. To achieve the objectives, acrylamide was polymerized by a redox couple in the immediate presence of polyvinyl alcohol, gelatin and a crosslinking agent (N, N′–methylene bis acrylamide). The structural and thermal characterization of the prepared hydrogels were carried out by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) which confirmed the formation of polyacrylamide grafted network and presented combined thermal features of the constituent polymers in their thermogram. The Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy (ESEM) techniques were utilized for morphological characterization and the hydrogels were found to exhibit a highly porous structure. The hydrogels were also investigated for water sorption capacity and the extent of water intake was found to depend on the chemical composition of the gel. The blend hydrogels were also tested for their tensile strength and it was found that for a definite composition of the constituents of the gel the hydrogel offered optimum mechanical properties like tensile strength, percent elongation and Young's modulus. Thus, the intended objectives to design mechanically strong and blood compatible hydrogels were achieved.

Keywords:

• Hydrogel
• mechanical properties
• characterization
• hydrophilic polymer

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance rendered to them by the Department of Science and Technology (DST, New Delhi, India) in the form of a major research project.