Preparation and Characterization of Silver Sulfadiazine-Loaded Polyvinyl Alcohol Hydrogels as an Antibacterial Wound Dressing

In this study, we prepared a series of silver sulfadiazine (AgSD)-loaded polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogels via electron beam (e-beam) irradiation. Our objective was to explore the influence of e-beam irradiation on the chemical structure and crystallinity of AgSD and the antibacterial properties of AgSD/PVA hydrogels. Prior to irradiation, we mixed AgSD in PVA solution in 2 forms, either suspended in water (WS) or dissolved in ammonia solution (AS). We noted that nano silver was released from AgSD/PVA-AS hydrogels immersed in deionized water, while it would not happen in AgSD/PVA-WS hydrogels. Both kinds of AgSD/PVA hydrogels exhibited good antibacterial activities against gram-negative Escherichia coli and gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus. And their antibacterial activity was not obviously affected by different dosages of e-beam irradiation. Moreover, the antibacterial activity of the AgSD/PVA-WS hydrogels was stronger than that of AgSD/PVA-AS. Accordingly, the cell cytotoxicity of the AgSD/PVA-WS hydrogels was higher than that of AgSD/PVA-AS. Our study results reveal that e-beam irradiation of PVA solution with dispersed AgSD is a simple and efficient way to prepare AgSD/PVA hydrogels, which might be an ideal antibacterial wound dressing.