POLYVINYL ALCOHOL/SILK PROTEIN SERICIN BLENDED HYDROGEL CROSSLINKED WITH VARIOUS CROSSLINKING AGENTS AS WOUND DRESSING

This research studies the effects of concentration and type of crosslinking agent between citric acid (CA) and glutaraldehyde (GA) on the preparation of the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/silk protein sericin (SPS) blended hydrogel. The hydrogel is prepared by blending 10%wt PVA solution with 3%wt SPS solution by using citric acid or glutaraldehyde as crosslinking agent at 5-20%wt of the polymer weight. Film transparency and water swelling, of PVA/SPS blended hydrogel were investigated. It was found that citric acid crosslinked PVA/SPS hydrogels were more transparent and had higher water swelling than those of glutaraldehyde crosslinked hydrogels. As the increasing concentration of the investigated crosslinking agent, water swelling of PVA/SPS hydrogels were increased. From the result, PVA/SPS hydrogel crosslinked by citric acid or glutaraldehyde should be an effective wound dressing.