Exploration of Improving the Tensile Strength of a Doubly Crosslinked Polyvinyl Alcohol-Cationic Guar Gum Hydrogel for Potential Application in Tissue Engineering
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29356/jmcs.v70i1.2580Keywords:
Hydrogel, tissue engineering, polyvinyl alcohol, cationic guar gum, freezing/thawingAbstract
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the development of biomaterials for tissue engineering applications, leading to the exploration of a wide range of polymers and polymer blends. In this study, a hydrogel composed of polyvinyl alcohol and cationic guar gum was developed using a dual crosslinking strategy based on freeze–thaw cycles and borate–diol bonds. The resulting hydrogel exhibited improved mechanical performance, achieving an optimized tensile strength of 34.16 ± 5.68 kPa, higher than that of non-crosslinked and chemically crosslinked systems. This enhancement is attributed to the combined effect of physical crosslinking and chemical interactions, which generate a more cohesive polymeric network. These results suggest that dual crosslinking is a promising strategy for the development of hydrogels with improved mechanical stability, suitable for tissue engineering applications requiring soft yet mechanically resilient materials.
Resumen. En los últimos años, se ha observado un aumento significativo en el desarrollo de biomateriales para aplicaciones en ingeniería de tejidos, lo que ha impulsado la exploración de una amplia variedad de polímeros y mezclas poliméricas. En este estudio, se desarrolló un hidrogel compuesto de alcohol polivinílico y goma guar catiónica mediante una estrategia de doble reticulación basada en ciclos de congelación–descongelación y formación de enlaces borato–diol. El hidrogel resultante mostró un mejor desempeño mecánico, alcanzando una resistencia a la tracción optimizada de 34.16 ± 5.68 kPa, superior a la de los sistemas no reticulados y reticulados únicamente por vía química. Esta mejora se atribuye al efecto combinado de la reticulación física y las interacciones químicas, que generan una red polimérica más cohesiva. Estos resultados sugieren que la doble reticulación es una estrategia prometedora para el desarrollo de hidrogeles con mayor estabilidad mecánica, adecuados para aplicaciones en ingeniería de tejidos que requieren materiales suaves, pero mecánicamente resistentes.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Sergio Alberto Bernal-Chávez, Sergio Alcalá-Alcalá, Lorena Duarte-Peña, María Luisa Del Prado-Audelo, Gerardo Leyva-Gómez
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