POLYMER BIOCOMPOSITES IN THE FORM OF HYDROGEL USED FOR THE TREATMENT OF PRESSURE SORES

This paper presents research related to the development of hydrogel polymer biocomposites (chitosan and alginate) with an analgesic medication (lidocaine hydrochloride). The pharmaceutical availability of lidocaine hydrochloride from the hydrogel preparations was evaluated for transdermal systems in accordance with the Polish Pharmacopoeia, XI Edition. The rheological tests showed that these preparations had the characteristics of non-Newtonian, pseudoplastic liquids, for which the viscosity decreases as the shear rate increases. The developed hydrogel preparations showed bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The release of lidocaine hydrochloride from the tested hydrogel was a complex process that followed first-order kinetics. The rate of release could be influenced by appropriate selection of the composition of the biocomposite.