Swelling, Mechanical and Antimicrobial Studies of Ag/P(HEMA/IA)/PVP Semi-IPN Hydrogel Hybrids

A simple and fast approach to the design and production of new hybrid polymeric biomaterials with silver particles is presented in this work. Silver/semi-interpenetrating network hybrid hydrogels (Ag/semi-IPNHHs) were prepared through an optimized solution crosslinking copolymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and itaconic acid (IA), in the presence of PVP, a silver salt and a reducing "green" agent (Ag/P(HEMA/IA)/PVP). PVP was chosen due to its protective, reduction, and nucleation properties in the production of metal particles. The structure of the Ag/semi-IPNHH was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The presence of silver and PVP in the network was confirmed by FTIR spectra. The results obtained by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) showed good mechanical properties for all samples. The swelling studies of Ag/P(HEMA/IA)/PVP were conducted in the temperature range of 25-55°C, in the buffer of pH 7.40. The Ag/semi-IPNHH showed temperature-sensitive swelling properties, with the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) values in the physiologically interesting interval. The antimicrobial activity of the samples was tested using E. coli, S. aureus and C. albicans pathogens. It was concluded that the antimicrobial potential depends on the hydrogel's composition and the type of microbes