Poly(vinyl alcohol)–Gantrez® AN cryogels for wound care applications

Abstract

Cryotropic gelation is a low cost, well-known technique that has been used for decades for the preparation of cryogels based on poly(vinyl alcohol). This technique does not require addition of any cross-linkers or initiators because a physical cross-linking takes place during the cryotropic gelation. Poly(vinyl alcohol)–Gantrez® AN cryogels with highly porous structure were successfully produced from the aqueous polymer mixtures with addition of 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8% w/v NaOH, which were frozen at −18 °C for approximately 9 hours and then thawed at room temperature (∼25 °C). These cryogels exhibited excellent mechanical properties (with 158–218% elongation to break) and high swelling ability in water (∼40 g of deionized water could be absorbed per 1 g of initial gel within 48 h). They exhibited intrinsic antimicrobial properties against Staphylococcus aureus without the addition of any antimicrobial agent due to the acidic nature of Gantrez® AN and related low pH of these cryogels. The in vitro biocompatibility of these cryogels was assessed using human dermal fibroblasts with very encouraging results. These cryogels are promising for applications in wound care.