Hydrogel–Collagen/PVA as Artificial Cartilage for Osteoarthritis Application

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease of degeneration in the joints involving the cartilage, the lining of joints, ligaments, and bones, causing pain and stiffness in the joints. In 2013, cases of OA reached 30% in the community aged 40-60 years. In addition, OA is the number five disease that causes defects in women in developed countries. This study aims to determine the variation of the variation of PVA in the hydrogels of the characteristics of AC and to understand the optimal composition of hydrogels / PVA. Artificial cartilage (AC) is the latest technology to replace damaged knee cartilage. One candidate for artificial cartilage is polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel with a variety of collagen concentrations: PVA (80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 0: 100) using the freeze thawing method, freeze at -80℃ for 18 hours and 6 hours at room temperature. The swelling ratio based on the results obtained by the percentage of swelling depends on the increase. The results of compressive strength test show the results which are the literature on the composition variation of 60:40 with the number 14.64 MPa. in the composition variation 60:40 shows the best sample because the literature collection is 4.31MPa. The FTIR test showed that the interaction between the – OH group and C = O formed showed the synthesis of the successful hydrogels / PVA. The SEM test was carried out on the best sample, namely at a concentration of 60:40 with a pore size of 52.225 μm and with a thickness of 1.98 μm. Based on the results of compressive characterization and tensile strength showed the best samples and met the requirements of artificial cartilage at a concentration variation of 60:40.