Effect of glyoxal concentration and nanoparticles reinforcement on the functional properties of composite hydrogel for biomedical applications

Hydrogels are widely used in tissue engineering applications due to their supportive structure to the proliferation of cells. In recent years, much work has gone into improving these hydrogels’ mechanical qualities using various combinations of natural and synthetic polymer types, adjusting the molecular cross-linking type, and combining these techniques to create interpenetrating polymer network hydrogels. The present study investigates the preparation of composite hydrogels from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), gelatin (GLTN), and guar gum (GG) supplemented with copper nanoparticles. The composite hydrogels’ static and dynamic mechanical behavior were tested by considering the effect of cross-linking density. The increased cross-linking density enhances storage modulus and tensile strength. G^′ upsurges from 69.298 to 87.289 kPa at 628 rad/s. With the incorporation of the CuNPs, further enhancement of 28.211 kPa was observed in the G^′ at the 628 rad/s. Hydrogel with a higher amount of glyoxal and copper nanoparticles exhibited the lowest creep deformation of 0.49%, and the amount of stress relaxed by the hydrogels within the timeframe was 42.28%. An increase in the tensile strength of ~ 31.58 kPa was perceived for the CMH4 compared with the CMH1 due to decreased porosity by 11.79% with the combined effect of glyoxal concentration and nanoparticle reinforcement. All the developed composite hydrogels exhibited better blood compatibility, antibacterial, pH, and thermo-sensitive swelling behavior.

Graphical abstract

Schematic representation of key research insights involved in the current work