| dc.description | Hydrogels are polymeric biomaterials widely used in biomedicine and defined as an insoluble system of one or more crosslinked hydrophilic polymers, capable of absorbing large amounts of fluids without losing their physical integrity. Composed by one three-dimensional network of crosslinked polymer chains they can be synthesized by various physical and chemical methods including radiation. One of these methods is the gamma irradiation process, which forms the crosslinked network and sterilizes the material in a single step. In the biomedical field one of hydrogels applications is the transdermal dressings, these systems have an impact of great value in the treatment of wounds, as they can protect regions injured by burns, cuts and even chronic wounds. The association of clay to hydrogels promotes a modification of properties of these materials, such as swelling and gel fraction. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the swelling properties and gel fraction of hydrogels based on polymer formulation of poly (N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone), poly (ethylene glycol), agar containing nano-clay laponite RD in Different concentrations (0, 0.01, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20%). The materials were mixed by stirring and heating and then processed by gamma radiation from Co-60 at doses of 10, 25, 50 and 70 kGy. To evaluate the gel fraction, the membranes were immersed in water for 3 weeks. The swelling was evaluated after 48 hours of immersion in distilled water at room temperature. It was observed that as the clay concentration increases regardless of the irradiation dose the amount of gel fraction decreased and the amount of water absorption increased. | |
