Swelling and Mechanical Characterization of Hydrogels based on Starch and PVA for Biomedical Applications

M. RUFFA; P. CARACCIOLO; L. SANCHEZ FELLAY; U. CASADO; V. CYRAS; L. FASCE

Buenos Aires

Workshop; II Workshop on Bio-degradable Polymers and Biocomposite, Workshop BIOPURFIL, Bio-based Polyurethane Composites with Natural Fillers; 2015

Biocompatible hydrogels are interesting materials for tissue engineering applications due to their swelling characteristics and non-linear elastic nature, similar to natural tissues. In this work, four types of hydrogels based on starch and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) were prepared and their swelling and mechanical behavior were studied. According to the stiffness range, the swelling nature and the hyperleastic/ poroviscolelastic responses, these hydrogels turn out to be candidates for the replacement of the central intervertebral disc tissue.