Improvement of poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(vinylpyrrolidone) blended hydrogel by radiation crosslinking

A series of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) blended hydrogel with kappa-carrageenan (KC) were prepared by radiation crosslinking with electron beam to improve the properties of hydrogel as wound dressing. The properties of the blended hydrogels were evaluated in terms of gel fraction, swelling behavior, gel strength and water evaporation from hydrogel. Gel fraction of PVA/PVP was saturated at 50 kGy and the achievcd gel fraction was 70%～80%. However, obtained hydrogel was very fragile and produced many bubbles at a dose of 50kGy and above, hence 1%～5% KC were added to give toughness. The rate of gel formation and the toughness of the blended hydrogel were raised after mixing KC. The PVA/PVP/KC blended hydrogel irradiated showed satisfactory properties for wound dressing, it did not produce bubble during irradiation, and it could retard the water evaporation.