Abstract
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) demonstrates chemical stability and biocompatibility and is widely used in biomedical applications. The porous bamboo charcoal has excellent toxin absorptivity and has been used in blood purification. In this study, bamboo charcoal nanoparticles (BCNPs) were acquired with nano-grinding technology. The PVA and PVA/BCNP nanocomposite membranes were prepared and characterized by the tensile test, attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results showed that the tensile strength and elongation of the swollen PVA membranes containing 1% BCNPs (PB1) were significantly greater than those of PVA and other PVA/BCNP composite membranes. In addition, the major absorption band of OH stretching in the IR spectra shifted from 3262 cm−1 for PVA membrane containing 1% BCNP to 3244 cm−1 for PVA membrane containing 20% BCNP. This blue shift might be attributed to the interaction between the PVA molecules and BCNPs. Moreover, the intensity of the XRD peaks in PVA was decreased with the increased BCNP content. The bioactivity of the nanocomposites was evaluated by immersion in the simulated body fluid (SBF) for seven days. The mineral deposition on PB5 was significantly more than that on the other samples. The mineral was identified as hydroxyapatite (HA) by XRD. These data suggest that the bioactivity of the composite hydrogel membranes was associated with the surface distribution of hydrophilic/hydrophobic components. The PVA/BCNP composite hydrogels may have potential applications in alveolar bone regeneration.
Highlights
Hydrogels are three-dimensional polymer networks containing a significant amount of water.Hydrogels based on poly(ethylene glycol), poly(vinyl pyrrolidone), polyacrylamide and poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) are widely studied in the biomedical field [1,2]
Based on transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images, particles were in semicircular shape with an average diameter of bamboo charcoal nanoparticles (BCNPs) 107.4 ± 9.8 nm (Figure 1a)
The diffraction patterns of BCNPs are composed of three components, including a broad peak and two sharp peaks, similar to that of charcoal observed by Oberlin (Figure 1b) [20]
Summary
Hydrogels are three-dimensional polymer networks containing a significant amount of water. Bamboo charcoal has a larger surface area (300 m2·g−1) than wood charcoal (30 m2·g−1) and has approximately four times more cavities and a four-fold higher absorption capacity [10]. These properties of bamboo charcoal make it a promising adsorbent material for enrichment and analysis of environmental pollutants [11]. The bamboo charcoal particles emitted far infrared rays at a wavelength between 4 and 16 μm at 37 °C. PVA nanocomposites may be applied at different physiological environments such as in gastric fluid or in buffered condition [19]. The nanocomposites were immersed in the simulated body fluid (SBF) and simulated gastric fluid (SGF) to evaluate the biological activity of PVA/BCNP nanocomposites under various physiological environments
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
