Electron beam crosslinked PEO and PEO PVA hydrogels for wound dressing

In order to prepare polyethylene oxide (PEO) hydrogel for wound dressing, different molecular weight PEO and PEO/poly(vinyl alcohol), PVA blend hydrogels were obtained with electron beam irradiation. Gel formation of PEO in aqueous solution was saturated at 40 kGy and the achieved gel fraction was 60-70%. The PEO hydrogel obtained was very fragile, hence PVA was added at 10-30% to give toughness to the PEO hydrogel. The PEO/PVA hydrogel blend showed satisfactory properties for wound dressing. To evaluate the healing effect of PEO/PVA hydrogel blend for dressing, the hydrogel covered a wound formed on the back of marmots. Healing under the wet environment of the hydrogel dressing had some advantages compared with that of gauze dressing which gives a dry environment: (1) the healing rate is faster, (2) easier to change the dressing, i.e. the hydrogel can be peeled off without any damage to the regenerated surface, and (3) no dressing material remains on the wound. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.