Fabrication and characterization of polyvinyl alcohol/chitosan/moringa-extract hydrogel patch for wound-healing applications

In this study, a wound-healing patch containing polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), chitosan (CH) and moringa-oleifera-leaf extract (MOR) blends was prepared. PVA prepolymer (2%) was prepared at 80 °C using a hot-plate magnetic stirrer. Four samples (6 ml-films) of PVA prepolymer with a combination of CH powder (0.5%, PVA+ CH), moringa-leaf extract (2.5%, PVA+ MOR), and both CH and moringa (0.5% and 2.5%, PVA+ CH+ MOR) were prepared using the freeze-thaw method at –40 °C. The tests were conducted with pure PVA as the control group. The physicochemical characteristics were assessed by compound-microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), tensile-strength test using universal testing machine (UTM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The water contact angles measured using ImageJ software proved the hydrophilicity of the fabricated biomaterial, showing watercontact angle 37.55° of PVA+ CH+ MOR. The results of the degradation test using phosphate buffer saline (PBS) also indicate that the CH biopolymer enhances the biodegradability of the hydrogel. On addition of chitosan the degradation temperature increased to 288 °C from 251 °C of pure PVA, while it changed to 302 °C on compounding moringa, proving enhanced strength. The obtained physicochemical properties suggest that the patch combining PVA + CH + MOR can be used as a wound-healing patch.