Influence of Manuka Honey on Mechanical Performance and Swelling Behaviour of Alginate Hydrogel Film

Abstract

In this study, sodium alginate (SA) hydrogel film incorporated with Manuka honey was successfully developed. Swelling properties and gel fraction of hydrogel films decreased upon addition of Manuka honey in SA film. SA hydrogel film has the highest swelling percentage at 512 ± 21% and decreased to 197 ± 9% in SA hydrogel film containing 10% (v/v) of Manuka honey (SA-H10). In contrast, the SA-H10 hydrogel film has the lowest gel fraction at 12 ± 1% compared to SA hydrogel film at 45 ± 3%. The Young’s Modulus of SA hydrogel films with Manuka honey were increased as the concentrations of Manuka honey increased. The hydrogel films with higher concentration of Manuka honey (SA-H10) were soft with tensile strength, tensile strain and Young’s Modulus at 1.06 ± 3 MPa, 15 ±1% and 34 ± 3 MPa, respectively. The water vapour transmission rates (WVTRs) of SA-H hydrogel films were in the range of 1051 ± 48 – 1428 ± 84 g m−2 d−1, which comparable to WVTRs values with the commercial wound dressing products. The SA-H hydrogel films can be a potential material to be used as a wound dressing product.