Synthesis and characterization of new honey incorporated double‐network hydrogels based on poly(vinyl alcohol) and acylated chitosan

Abstract

AbstractA new honey‐hydrogel arrangement was developed by incorporating honey into a hydrogel containing polyvinyl alcohol and acylated chitosan. A water‐soluble acylated chitosan as the second network was synthesized via reaction of maleic anhydride with chitosan in water. A freeze–thaw process was employed to cross‐link the polyvinyl alcohol chains and a calcium chloride solution was used to cross‐link the acylated chitosan mixture in the presence of honey to precipitate out a flexible and tough hydrogel. The CaCl2content was optimized for the best results which was 0.1 mass%. The characterization such as mechanical, thermal, water content, and cell culture studies of all the synthesized double‐network hydrogel systems were investigated. In the presence of the acylated chitosan and honey almost all the investigated properties of the samples were improved. The formulation was optimized using deferent amount of CaCl2. Mechanical testing of the optimized formulation displayed a maximum value of 0.55 MPa and 310% for tensile strength and elongation at break. Swelling studies indicated that optimized formulation hydrogel absorbed much water as compare with honey‐free hydrogels due to increased amounts of network connectivity and higher hydrophilicity. Thermal analysis of the samples indicated that synthesized double‐network hydrogel network also decreased thermal stability and showed synergistic effects on the improvement of char residues. In addition, cell culture studies showed an appropriate biocompatibility behavior without showing any sign of cytotoxicity.