Abstract
Novel composites have been prepared via the incorporation of zinc oxide nanoparticles (nZnO) into poly(acrylic acid‐co‐itaconic acid) (poly(AA‐co‐IA)) hydrogel. The prepared composites were characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), swelling studies, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The amount of nZnO incorporated into hydrogel was determined by using atomic absorbance spectrometry. In addition, the antibacterial performance of composites was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). SEM characterization of the composite hydrogels revealed a homogeneous distribution of the nZnO throughout the hydrogel with formation of some agglomerates. A progressive rise in thermal stability of poly(AA‐co‐IA) is found with increasing nZnO concentration. nZnO/poly(AA‐co‐IA) composites showed antibacterial activity against both bacteria. The approach used in this work is an efficient method to develop new hydrogel‐based wound dressing composites for use in biomedical applications. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:171–180, 2018. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers
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