High performances of dual network PVA hydrogel modified by PVP using borax as the structure-forming accelerator

Abstract

A dual network hydrogel made up of polyvinylalcohol (PVA) crosslinked by borax and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was prepared by means of freezing-thawing circles. Here PVP was incorporated by linking with PVA to form a network structure, while the introduction of borax played the role of crosslinking PVA chains to accelerate the formation of a dual network structure in PVA/PVP composite hydrogel, thus endowing the hydrogel with high mechanical properties. The effects of both PVP and borax on the hydrogels were evaluated by comparing the two systems of PVA/PVP/borax and PVA/borax hydrogels. In the former system, adding 4.0% PVP not only increased the water content and the storage modulus but also enhanced the mechanical strength of the final hydrogel. But an overdose of PVP just as more than 4.0% tended to undermine the structure of hydrogels, and thus deteriorated hydrogels’ properties because of the weakened secondary interaction between PVP and PVA. Likewise, increasing borax could promote the gel crosslinking degree, thus making gels show a decrease in water content and swelling ratio, meanwhile shrinking the pores inside the hydrogels and finally enhancing the mechanical strength of hydrogels prominently. The developed hydrogel with high performances holds great potential for applications in biomedical and industrial fields.

Lyophilized Polyvinylpyrrolidone Hydrogel for Culture of Human Oral Mucosa Stem Cells

“…It is driven by the homolytic thermal dissociation of the initiator to create free radicals, allowing the formation of covalent bonds between the polymer chains. The chemical composition of PVP determined by FTIR and Raman spectroscopies was in agreement with previous reports where it was polymerized by different routes [ 3 , 4 , 18 , 40 ]. Furthermore, heat-activated polymerization produced a stable PVP hydrogel with clear elastic solid behaviour able to recover stored energy.…”

“…Furthermore, heat-activated polymerization produced a stable PVP hydrogel with clear elastic solid behaviour able to recover stored energy. In general, similar solid behaviour is reported for a wide range of PVP formulations and oscillation frequencies [ 4 , 37 , 38 ]. In particular, the PVP hydrogel developed in this work presented a storage modulus between keratinized gingiva (20 kPa) and tongue and soft palate (2.5 kPa) [ 41 , 42 ], the main tissues forming the oral mucosa, which is the target of this study to culture and retain undifferentiated the hOMSCs.…”

“…The hydrophilic and hydrophobic functional groups allow PVP solubility in water and in several organic solvents, such as methanol, ethanol, chloroform, or propanol [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. PVP is chemically inert and suitable as a stable biomaterial in numerous medical applications [ 2 , 4 ]. For instance, in the pharmaceutical industry, it is used as a carrier of some hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs [ 1 , 3 ].…”

“…Moreover, PVP can encapsulate DNA to protect it from intracellular degradation [ 5 ]. One advantage of PVP is that it can be processed to obtain hydrogels [ 4 , 6 , 7 ]. Hydrogels are three-dimensional (3D) polymeric networks that can mimic both the biological and the mechanical properties of extracellular matrix [ 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”

Tensile Fatigue of Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Hydrogels with Bio‐Friendly Toughening Agents

“…This can be attributed to the molecular chains of starch disrupting PVA's ability to pack its molecular chains, which ultimately hinders the process of PVA crystallite formation. [ 91,92 ] The hydrogen bonding between the OH groups of starch and the OH groups of PVA prevents chain segment movement to a certain extent, [ 92 ] and this effect becomes important for 4 to 6 wt% starch to bring the degree crystallinity slightly back up in Figure 7b. Mirroring a similar trend in monotonic toughness, the molecular chains of PVA can no longer diffuse as freely as before due to the enhanced opportunities for hydrogen bonding with more starch present.…”