Studies on radiation preparation and characteristics of kappa-carrageenan/PVP blend hydrogel

In this work, a series of hydrogels in the form of rod were prepared from k appa -carrageenan(KC) and poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone)(PVP) by gamma radiation with Co-60 gamma source at room temperature. The properties of the prepare d hydrogels, such as the gel strength, gel fraction and swelling behavior w ere investigated. High molecular weight PVP(k-90) blending with KC could pr oduces excellent hydrogels, but low molecular weight PVP(k-30) dosen't. Wit h increasing KC content in the prepared hydrogel, both the gel strength and the equilibrium degree of swelling were improved. The experimental analyse s showed that the crosslinking reaction of PVP(k-90) was quicker than the d egradation of KC at low dose(less than 30 kGy), and the degradation of KC w as inhibited in PVP/KC mixture system. An interpenetrating polymer network( IPN) hydrogel composed of PVP (a chemically crosslinked network) and KC (a physically crosslinked network) was proposed, In addition, the dose influen ced greatly the preparation of the hydrogel.