William Xaveriano Waresindo, Halida Rahmi Luthfianti, Dian Ahmad Hapidin, Dhewa Edikresnha, Akfiny Hasdi Aimon, Tri Suciati, Khairurrijal Khairurrijal
Guava leaves are known to have many health benefits. Extraction of guava leaves by maceration method can accommodate important bioactive compounds so that guava leaf extract (GLE) is obtained. The loading of GLE into a 3-dimensional polymer matrix called hydrogel is carried out so that the release can be controlled. The synthesis of hydrogels by physical crosslinking known as freeze-thaw has become the preferred method because the process is simple and low-cost. The physical properties of the hydrogel are influenced by the freeze-thaw synthesis parameters. In this research, we succeeded in optimizing the parameters of the number of freezing and thawing cycles (4, 5, and 6 cycles) and knowing their effect on the physical properties of PVA/GLE hydrogels e.g., swelling degree, weight loss, gel fraction, and mechanical properties. The optimum number of FT cycles is 5 cycles because it produces a hydrogel with the largest swelling degree of 180.83 %, the smallest weight loss of 17.41 %, the largest gel fraction of 82.58 %, and the highest compressive strength of 174.96 kPa. © 2025 American Institute of Physics Inc.. All rights reserved.
Doctoral Program of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesa 10, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia; Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesa 10, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia; Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesa 10, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia; University Center of Excellence – Nutraceutical, Bioscience and Biotechnology Research Center, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesa 10, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia; Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, Institut Teknologi Sumatera, Jl. Terusan Ryacudu, Lampung, 35365, Indonesia