Journal
MATERIALS
Volume 14, Issue 2, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/ma14020396
Keywords
gelatin hydrogels; cross-linking; EDC-NHS; squaric acid; dialdehyde starch
Categories
Funding
- National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR, Poland) [TECHMATSTRATEG2/407770/2/NCBR/2020]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study investigated the cross-linking of gelatin using different cross-linking agents, and found that dialdehyde starch is a better cross-linking agent for gelatin compared to EDC-NHS. Meanwhile, the use of squaric acid did not result in beneficial changes to the properties of the hydrogel.
Gelatin is a natural biopolymer derived from collagen. Due to its many advantages, such as swelling capacity, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and commercial availability, gelatin is widely used in the field of pharmacy, medicine, and the food industry. Gelatin solutions easily form hydrogels during cooling, however, the materials are mechanically poor. To improve their properties, they are often chemically crosslinked. The cross-linking agents are divided into two groups: Zero-length and non-zero-length cross-linkers. In this study, gelatin was cross-linked by three different cross-linking agents: EDC-NHS, as a typically used cross-linker, and also squaric acid (SQ) and dialdehyde starch (DAS), as representatives of a second group of cross-linkers. For all prepared gelatin hydrogels, mechanical strength tests, thermal analysis, infrared spectroscopy, swelling ability, and SEM images were performed. The results indicate that the dialdehyde starch is a better cross-linking agent for gelatin than EDC-NHS. Meanwhile, the use of squaric acid does not give beneficial changes to the properties of the hydrogel.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available