Delivery kinetics of natural active agents by PVA hydrogels intended for wound care

Acute wound dressings can be based on PVA hydrogels, which present many characteristics of an ideal dressing, e.g., fluid uptake, a moisturized environment, etc. The lack of antimicrobial properties leads to the addition of natural active agents. The present work aims to manufacture and compare PVA gels loaded with Barbatimão bark extract, Leucaena bark extract, Aloe vera, and Lavender essential oil. They were characterized by FTIR, swelling tests, SEM, actives release. There were interactions between PVA and the active agents. The addition of Leucaena and Barbatimão increased the PVA ability to swell, but the opposite was found for Aloe vera and Lavender essential oil. PVA-Lavender essential oil samples presented interconnected pores, while samples with essential oil or extracts presented high crystallinity. Lavender essential oil and Aloe vera presented the highest release. The Barbatimão and Leucaena samples’ release may be related to the samples’ swelling, but the initial release of Aloe vera and Lavender samples was diffusion controlled by swelling. Their long-term release was dose-dependent for Aloe vera, while it was a non-Fickian diffusion for Lavender essential oil related to the hydrogel’s relaxation step. There is a synergistic effect when Aloe vera and Lavender essential oil are loaded in PVA hydrogels.