Production and PHB blends films characterization with alginate and PEG esterified: Material potential for use as skin healing?

Biofilms of poly (hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) blended with esterified alginate (ALG-e) and poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG), as a new proposal for polymeric dressings, have been produced and compared to PHB films. The films of PHB, PHB/PEG and PHB/ALG-e/PEG were characterized chemically by FTIR. The crystallinity of the films and the thermal transitions were characterized by XRD, DSC and TG respectively. Considering that the hydrophilicity and mechanical properties are important properties for a material used as skin dressings, water vapor permeation measurements (WVP) and traction tests were performed on films. At the concentrations studied, it was found that both PEG and ALG-e were able to decrease the hydrophobic nature of PHB, favoring the PVA and decreasing tensile strength. (author)