Fabrication of Stable PVA/PVP Hydrogels

PVA hydrogel has been used in the field of cartilage replacement in recent year. In order to improve the water-keeping ability of PVA gel and mechanical property, PVP was introduced into PVA and crosslinked by adding ammonium persulfate to form a composite gel. The crosslinkage of the gel was identified, and the effect of PVP and ammonium persulfate amount on the composite gel was studied. The crosslinkage, the degree of swelling and the compress stress of the composite gels have been tested. UV analysis was used to investigate the release of PVP from the composite gels. The dried composite gels were put into water to investigate the degree and velocity of the rehydration of different composite gels.