Physical Assessment of Polyvinyl Alcohol/Polyethylene Oxide Blend Film with Antioxidant or Antibacterial Composite Toward Wound Dressing Application

Abstract

Wound dressing has a preferred characteristic to be ideal for wound healing application. Thus, the use of polymers and bioactive compounds requires optimization to ensure the ratio and concentration of blend polymer and the concentrations of the bioactive concentration in the film. This study prepared different ratios, and concentrations of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/polyethene oxide (PEO) blend film to determine its optimum ratio and concentration using the solution casting method. The antioxidant (Glutathione – GSH) and antibacterial agent (Allicin) were added to the optimized PVA/PEO blend to identify the effect on the physical characteristics of the films upon the addition of bioactive compounds. The physical assessment of the synthesized films showed that the 90PVA/10PEO with a total polymer concentration of 5% possess desirable physical characteristics (ease of peeling, foldability and transparency) and achieve 100.4% water uptake. In terms of the PVA/PEO/GSH and PVA/PEO/Allicin films, there was no difference in the ease of peeling, foldability, and transparency compared to the control film. In conclusion, 5% of 90 PVA/10PEO is the optimum ratio and concentration that can be used to incorporate bioactive compounds such as GSH and Allicin.