Abstract

ECHEVERRI, Claudia Elena; VALLEJO, Catalina  and  LONDONO, Marta Elena. SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYVINYL ALCOHOL HYDROGELS BY FREEZING/THAWING TECHNIQUE FOR MEDICAL APPLICATIONS . Rev.EIA.Esc.Ing.Antioq [online]. 2009, n.12, pp.59-66. ISSN 1794-1237.

Using different cycles of freeze-thawing, semicrystalline polyvinyl alcohol hydrogels were synthesized in concentrations of 7.5 % and 12 %. The kinetic and grade of swelling, states of water and the tensile strength were calculated by gravimetry, by differential scanning calorimetry, DSC, and the tensile tests respectively. The results show that hydrogels with less concentration and cycles have better grade and kinetic of swelling, while the tensile strength is lower. The DSC results allow us to determine the free and freezable bound waters in our hydrogels. The characteristics obtained from these hydrogels lead their classification for different medical applications.

Keywords : polyvinyl alcohol; biomaterials; hydrogels; freezing/thawing.

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