Fabrication of PVA/PAAm IPN hydrogel with high adhesion and enhanced mechanical properties for body sensors and antibacterial activity

Abstract PVA hydrogel has excellent adhesion ability and biocompatibility, and is considered as a promising material in the field of wound dressings. However, the traditional PVA hydrogel has poor mechanical properties, which greatly limits its application. In this article, we obtained a PVA/PAAm interpenetrating networks (IPN) hydrogel by a one-pot free radical polymerization method, which improved the mechanical strength and retained the original properties of the PVA. The IPN hydrogel was proved to possess excellent adhesion strength and rheological properties with certain conductivity, which can be used as a human motion monitor. To achieve the application of wound dressing, a polymer antibacterial agent of polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG) was introduced into the hydrogel. The results showed the antibacterial properties of the PVA/PAAm IPN hydrogel were enhanced obviously on both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The prepared PVA/PAAm IPN hydrogel may provide the possibility for the application in the field of body sensors and wound dressing.