ABSTRACT 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. hydrogels dressing eg e g e.g. uptake environment etc agents extract FTIR tests SEM swell PVALavender pores crystallinity longterm long term dosedependent dose dependent nonFickian non Fickian hydrogel s step e.g

NaCMC is a biocompatible polymer that can be crosslinked with citric acid to form a gel matrix. Melaleuca oils have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties with potential for wound healing. The goal of this work was to investigate the characteristics of NaCMC-Melaleuca oils gels. The gels were characterized by FTIR, TGA, mechanical analysis, and in vitro swelling and S. aureus inhibition tests. The oils were characterized using chromatography, presenting high values of (1,8-cineol/terpinen-4-ol), and evaluated for confirmation of their effect against S. aureus. The samples showed physical interactions between NaCMC, citric acid and the Melaleuca oils. Erosion in saline solution was higher in the gels with oils, attributable to interference with crosslinking. The membranes presented high contribution of relaxation mechanism and low contribution of Fickian diffusion regarding the swelling ability. The presence of the oils increased thermal stability and diminished gel fraction and mechanical properties, indicating that the oils interact with the matrix anchoring the chains. Although melaleuca oils themselves were active against S. aureus and CA was responsible for the NaCMC hydrogels activity, the incorporation of melaleuca oils in NaCMC gels was not reported previously. This report indicates that NaCMC hydrogel may be a proper matrix for essential oils incorporation.

Abstract PVA cryogels are well established as candidate biomaterials for wound healing applications but are not themselves biodegradable or antimicrobial. Blending PVA with NaCMC (CMC) or gelatin (G) can increase the gel’s ability to swell and would introduce a degree of biodegradability. The incorporation of appropriate amounts of a natural antimicrobial/healing agents, such as honey (H), would contribute to the gels properties. The present work addresses the development and characterization of layered gels (PVA-H, PVA-CMC-H and PVA-G-H, with empty PVA, PVA-CMC, PVA-G gels presented as controls). The gels were characterized by FTIR, DSC, in vitro analysis of swelling and microbiological (S. aureus) effects. Addition of gelatin, NaCMC and honey to PVA diminished the PVA chains’ ability to pack into crystallites. Samples containing honey swelled less and presented higher weight loss/biodegradability than samples without honey. Only the honey-laden PVA-CMC and PVA-G presented activity against S. aureus.