PRELIMINARY STUDY ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BACTERIAL CELLULOSE/PVA MULTILAYER COMPOSITE HYDROGELS

摘要

Polymer hydrogels used to replace damaged tissues is a promising incentive for their good biocompatibility in contact with human tissues. Crosslinked polyvinyl alcohol hydrogels (PVA-H) are a class of viscoelastic materials with high water contents, and possess good biocompatibility, high elasticity and good chemical stability and durability, which are promising substitute biomaterials for soft and tough tissue, such as articular cartilage, artery, ligament etc. However, the low bulk modulus and limited biomechanical properties of hydrogels hinder the further development of their bio-medical applications. A lot of materials have compounded with PVA hydrogels in order to improve their mechanical properties, including hydroxylapatite, chitosan etc. But the lack of good matching mechanical properties between some natural tissue, such as meniscus, and the PVA hydrogels is still an open issue.