Development of a methodology for the study of polymer wound coatings for application characteristics

Abstract

This paper reports a research methodology for characterizing wound dressings in order to assess the application properties of medical devices as a whole. Wound dressing was based on grafting polymerization of N-vinyl caprolactam and 2-hydoxyethyl acrylate on polyvinyl alcohol. The obtained copolymer was characterized by FTIR. Cross-linked films of wound dressings were obtained by radiation treatment of the copolymers. The physico-mechemical properties of wound dressings were investigated. Testing included degree of swelling, elastic modulus, tensile strength and elongation at break. The radiation doses of the reaction affected physico-mechanical properties of wound dressings. As the dose of radiation increased, the yield of gel increased, degree of swilling and tensile strength decreased. Also, the results indicated that yield of the crosslinked fraction increases, and the swelling capacity of polymer mesh decreases with increasing 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate content in the graft copolymer.