Investigation of the Effect of Swelling on the Diffusion Properties of Polyethylene Glycol Hydrogel for Wound Healing Applications

The present research work aims to comprehensively analyze the effect of swelling of polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogel on its diffusion properties for wound healing applications. For this study, a computational model based on three fundamental theories namely, equilibrium swelling theory, rubber elasticity theory and free volume theory has been implemented to determine the diffusion parameters of PEG hydrogel having a molecular weight of 20,000 g/mol. The diffusion of two plant metabolites with inherent antimicrobial activity namely, Cinnamaldehyde and Curcumin and two synthetic antimicrobial drugs namely, Amphotericin B and Vancomycin has been simulated. The results demonstrate that the proposed theoretical framework is capable of predicting the alterations occurring in the diffusion characteristics due to the swelling of PEG hydrogel. The diffusion coefficient of the solute is found to increase with the volumetric swelling ratio (Qv), owing to the wider mesh size of the hydrogel matrix. The diffusion time of the therapeutic compounds is observed to be in the range of 2.40 - 8.30 h.Clinical Relevance— The modelling approach employed in this study will be clinically relevant for designing hydrogel drug delivery systems capable of accelerating the treatment of the infected wounds.