THE EFFECT OF ADDITIONAL CHITOSAN AND SODIUM ALGINATE ON POLYVINYL ALCOHOL/AGERATUM CONYZOIDES LEAF EXTRACT HYDROGELS

• Main Author: Asy Syifa, Nabila
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/70321
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Ageratum conyzoides leaves have been used as the main ingredient in medicines and have many pharmacological benefits such as anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anxiolytic and contain several compounds such as alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins and saponins which predominantly act as antibacterial agents. Utilization of Ageratum conyzoides leaf extract (EDB) as an antibacterial agent requires a delivery medium. One of the currently massively developed antibacterial agent delivery media is hydrogel. Hydrogels are polymer networks capable of absorbing large amounts of water without dissolving or destroying the structural integrity of the polymer. The freeze-thaw method is a hydrogel synthesis method that is capable of forming a stable structure and is not toxic to the human body. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a material that has very good biocompatibility, Chitosan (CS) has an intrinsic antibacterial capacity, and Sodium alginate (SA) has a high liquid absorption capacity, aiming to improve the performance of PVA/EDB hydrogels. In this research, we have identified the effect of adding SA and CS on the antibacterial activity of PVA/EDB hydrogels synthesized by the freeze-thaw method. SEM images confirmed the increased density of the hydrogel structure and morphology due to the increased crosslink density. The presence of SA makes the hydrogel morphology appear layered and there are gaps between the layers. The presence of CS content forms gaps between waves that function as pores. The addition of SA and CS showed regularly distributed pores. The degree of swelling of the PVA hydrogel increased, but there was a decrease in the gel fraction with the addition of EDB, SA and CS. FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of functional groups for each precursor which indicated the successful encapsulation of the hydrogel matrix. The addition of EDB, SA, and CS had an effect on decreasing the degree of crystallinity in the XRD test and compressive strength in the mechanical properties test. The thermal characteristics obtained from the TGA curve show a decrease in thermal stability, whereas in the DSC curve there is a decrease in the degree of crystallinity according to the XRD results. Hydrogel containing EDB and CS showed a significant increase in antibacterial activity. The addition of SA and CS to the PVA/EDB hydrogel had an effect on the percentage of extract release which decreased with a slow release process. Based on these results, the PVA/EDB hydrogel with the addition of SA and CS that has been synthesized produces a large degree of swelling, high antibacterial activity and controlled release of the extract which has the potential to be applied as a wound dressing material or drug delivery