Novel Biological Hydrogel: Swelling Behaviors Study in Salt Solutions with Different Ionic Valence Number

In this paper, poly gamma-glutamic acid/epsilon-polylysine (gamma-PGA/epsilon-PL) hydrogels were successful prepared. The gamma-PGA/epsilon-PL hydrogels could be used to remove Na+, Ca2+, and Cr3+ from aqueous solution and were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The performance of hydrogels were estimated under different ionic concentration, temperature, and pH. The results showed that the ionic concentration and the pH significantly influenced the swelling capacity of gamma-PGA/epsilon-PL hydrogels. The swelling capacities of gamma-PGA/epsilon-PL hydrogels were decreased with the increase of the ionic concentration. However, the swelling capacity of the gamma-PGA/epsilon-PL hydrogel was increased with the increase of the pH. The swelling kinetics indicated that gamma-PGA/epsilon-PL hydrogels presented a more limited swelling degree in metal ion solutions with higher ionic valence numbers than in ion solutions with lower ionic valence numbers. However, the swelling kinetics of gamma-PGA/epsilon-PL hydrogels showed that they proposed a satisfactory description in NaCl and CaCl2 solutions. The adsorption process was fitted with a pseudo-second-order rate equation model. Moreover, the desorption kinetics of gamma-PGA/epsilon-PL hydrogels showed that they could release most of the adsorption ions. Considering the biocompatibility, biodegradability, and ionic-sensitive properties, we propose that these gamma-PGA/epsilon-PL hydrogels have high potential to be used in environmental protection, medical treatment, and other related fields.