Enhanced Skin Adhesive Property of Hydrophobically Modified Poly(vinyl alcohol) Films

Hydrophobically modified poly(vinyl alcohol) (hm-PVA) films with various alkyl chain lengths were prepared. Their surface/mechanical properties, cytocompatibility, and porcine skin adhesion strength were evaluated. hm-PVAs had 10 °C higher glass transition temperature than poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) (33.4 ± 2.5 °C). The water contact angle of the hm-PVA films increased with alkyl chain length and/or hydrophobic group modification ratio. The tensile strength of the hm-PVA films decreased with increasing alkyl chain length and/or hydrophobic group modification ratio. hm-PVA with short chain lengths (4 mol % propanal-modified PVA; 4C3-PVA) had low cytotoxicity compared with long alkyl chain length hm-PVAs (4 mol % hexanal and nonanal-modified PVA; 4C6-PVA and 4C9-PVA). The 4C3-PVA film had the highest porcine skin adhesion strength. Thus, the 4C3-PVA film is promising as an adhesive for wearable medical devices.