Mechanical properties, urea diffusion, and cell cultural response of poly(vinyl alcohol)–Chitosan bioartificial membranes via molecular modelling and experimental investigation

An in silico protocol jointly with experimental approach is here used to design and investigate poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)–Chitosan polymer membranes. Atomistic computational investigations were performed to assess mechanical behaviour and urea molecules diffusion of PVA–Chitosan blend bulk models with different compositions. Blend membranes of PVA–Chitosan were prepared with different compositions by solvent-casting technique and their swelling behaviour, morphological, mechanical and transport properties were investigated. Cytotoxicity assessments by means of in vitro, indirect contact assay were carried using L929 fibroblast-like cells. The values of the Young modulus along the three perpendicular directions of computational systems were very similar and ranged from 3.64 to 4.39 GPa. Urea diffusivity was related to the blends composition and the values ranged from 1.62 × 10−7 to 9.56 × 10−8 cm2/s. Overall, a good agreement was found between experimental and simulation data.