Importance of viscoelastic property measurement of a new hydrogel for health care

Abstract

A simple technology based new hydrogel "PVP-CMC-BA" has been prepared by the scientists of Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Czech Republic. Its swelling property (in presence of water, human blood and different pH), antimicrobial property (in presence of skin infection causing agents like: Staphylococcus aureus; bacteria and Candida albicans; fungi) and viscoelastic properties such as storage modulus (G), loss modulus (G '') and complex viscosity (eta*) were investigated at room temperature (25-28 degrees C) which demonstrate that PVP-CMC-BA hydrogel is maintaining requisite properties for health care application, specially as a wound dressing material. The elasticity and antimicrobial property of PVP-CMC-BA is directly correlated with percentage of boric acid, an antiseptic agent. The consequential values of viscoelastic properties of the hydrogel (before drying) enable us to understand its specific flexible condition to apply on the surface of human body.