In these studies, hydrogels for wound dressings were made from a mixture of aloe vera and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) by freezing and thawing, gamma-Ray irradiation, or a two-step process of freezing and thawing and gamma-ray irradiation. We examined the physical properties, including gelation, water absorptivity, gel strength, and degree of water evaporation, to evaluate the applicability of these hydrogels for wound dressings. The PVA:PVP ratio was 6:4, the dry weight of aloe vera was in the range 0.4-1.2 wt %, and the solid concentration of the PVA/PVP/aloe vera solution was 15 wt %. We used gamma radiation doses of 25, 35, and 50 kGy to expose mixtures of PVA/PVP/aloe vera to evaluate the effect of radiation dose on the physical properties of the hydrogels. Gel content and gel strength increased as the concentration of aloe vera in the PVA/PVP/aloe vera gels decreased and as radiation dose increased and the number of freeze-thaw cycles was increased. The swelling degree was inversely proportional to the gel content and gel strength. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.