DYAH HIKMAWATI*, PRIHARTINI WIDIYANTI, SRI SUMARSIH AND MUHAMMAD HAFIDH KUSYUSTYO
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya 60115, Indonesia
*(e-mail : dyah-hikmawati@fst.unair.ac.id; Mobile : +6282245021804)
ABSTRACT
Alginate hydrogel has been widely used in the medical field i. e. drug delivery and tissue engineering. The collagen obtained from sea cucumber was an alternative compound which could replace the mammalian collagen (pig and cow) usage in the pharmacy industry (capsules). This study was aimed at exploring the effect of alginate-collagen fibril composition to the water absorption ability (swelling) and mechanical properties of composite hydrogel membrane of alginate-collagen fibrils. Collagen fibrils were extracted from 200 g of fresh sea cucumber (Acaudina rosettis). The hydrogel membrane was made by mixing of 2% (w/v) alginate and 3 mg/ml of CaSO4 by manual stirring. The collagen fibrils in various compositions of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25% (v/v) then added and stirred manually until formed a homogenous mixture. The 20 ml of hydrogel alginate-collagen fibrils were casted in size of 7 x 7 cm, and 0.5 cm width on aluminum foilcoated glass plate and were allowed to dry at room temperature. Hydrogel membranes formed were characterized by IR spectrophotometry, water absorption and strength mechanics (tensile strength and elongation). In this study, 200 ml crude collagen fibrils were obtained in the form of viscous liquid with a collagen content of 1.5230/0. The existence of the alginate and collagen cross-linking were indicated by the shift of the absorption of N-H groups in the collagen and c-o group in the alginate in the FTIR spectrum. Alginate-collagen composite hydrogel membrane was shown for high water absorption capacity of 1225-2325%, tensile strength values of 17.261-39.260 MPa and elongation per cent of 1.774-2.409. The results showed the composite hydrogel membrane of alginate-collagen in accordance with the mechanical
properties of human skin and it supported the hydrogel membrane as wound dressing.
Key words : Hydrogel membrane, alginate, collagen fibrils, sea cucumber, Acaudina rosetiis