Development of a chemically crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel for injectable nucleus pulposus replacement

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels have been chemically crosslinked using poly(ethylene glycol) diglycidyl ether (PEG-DGE) to develop a material for injectable nucleus pulposus replacement. The effects of PVA and PEG-DGE concentrations on compressive modulus and swelling have been deteremined in addition to the cytotoxic effects of crosslinking PVA with PEG-DGE.