Hydrogels based on chemically modified poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA-GMA) and PVA-GMA/chondroitin sulfate: Preparation and characterization

This work reports the preparation of hydrogels based on PVA-GMA, PVA-GMA is poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) functionalized with vinyl groups from glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), and on PVA-GMA with different content of chon- droitin sulfate (CS). The degrees of swelling of PVA-GMA and PVA-GMA/CS hydrogels were evaluated in distilled water and the swelling kinetics was performed in simulated gastric and intestinal fluids (SGF and SIF). PVA-GMA and PVA- GMA/CS hydrogels demonstrated to be resistant on SGF and SIF fluids. The elastic modulus, E, of swollen-hydrogels were determined through compressive tests and, according to the obtained results, the hydrogels presented good mechanical properties. At last, the presence of CS enhances the hydrogel cell compatibility as gathered by cytotoxicity assays. It was concluded that the hydrogels prepared through this work presented characteristics that allow them to be used as biomaterial, as a carrier in drug delivery system or to act as scaffolds in tissue engineering as well.