Hydrogel is a material rich in water and can help maintain moisture in the wound area, so it can speed up the wound healing process. In this study, sodium alginate-based hydrogels were synthesized using natural plants, namely aloe vera and garlic extracts, for wound healing applications where this material can be linked to the Sustainable Development Goals, SDG 12, which is responsible consumption and production. This study aims to investigate the physicochemical properties of different types of hydrogels and the efficiency of hydrogels in terms of swelling ratio and antibacterial properties. This study distinguishes four types of hydrogels with ratios of alginate to aloe vera and garlic at a ratio of 95:5 and 90:10 respectively. The samples were characterized by 95% alginate + 5% aloe vera (AGA5), 95% alginate + 5% garlic (AGG5), 90% alginate + 10% aloe vera (AGA10), and 90% alginate + 10% garlic (AGG10).The functional groups in this sample will be confirmed through a fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). A hydrogel swelling test will be conducted to compare the water uptake capacity. In addition, the disc absorption test will be carried out on gram negative bacteria, namely Escherichia coli, to study the potential of the material as an antimicrobial agent. Based on the results of the study, the concentration of aloe vera and garlic affects the rate of water absorption in the hydrogel. The AGA5 hydrogel has a higher swelling percentage and better stability compared to the other three hydrogel samples: AGA10, AGG5, and AGG10. For the antimicrobial test, no zone of inhibition was observed for all four hydrogels. In conclusion, the production of this hydrogel synthesis has the potential to provide benefits in the medical industry, especially in treating wounds.
Azhar et al. (Tue,) studied this question.