Fluid Intake Capacity of Aloe Vera and Sea Cucumber Thin Film

Abstract

Aloe Vera and sea cucumber are the natural material which has been used widely in bio-medical field in Malaysia, especially for wound healing purposes due to its therapeutic effects. Recently, thin films which can absorb acceptable amount of fluid has been gaining attentions in biomaterial wound dressing applications. Hence, the incorporation of these natural materials in the fabrication of the thin films were investigated regarding the fluid intake capacity under the condition of being in contact with deionized water and pseudo-wound exudate. Three types of films made of different compositions of Aloe Vera and sea cucumber were prepared and evaluated. The morphology of the films was analysed using the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) evaluation and the fluid intake capacity through the Free Swell Absorptive Capacity test. Results showed the variety of fluid intake capacity of different type of the film after being immersed in both solutions. The morphological structure of each film also varied from one another. The result also indicated that the Aloe Vera film held the adequate fluid intake capacity without any degradation behaviour.