A thermosensitive chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel containing hydroxyapatite for protein delivery

Abstract

The synthesis and characterization of a thermosensitive chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel containing hydroxyapatite for protein delivery were first reported. Two synthetic processes were introduced, that is, in situ and ex situ routes. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and rheological analysis were employed to characterize the hydrogel. The gel formation decreased the crystallinity of the hydroxyapatite crystal. FTIR results showed that the hydroxyapatite crystals were partially substituted by carbonate. It was supposed that the structural features of hydroxyapatite were close to those of biological apatites. The thermosensitive property of the gels was evaluated by rheological analysis, which indicated that the strength of hydroxyapatite-chitosan/PVA composite gels was notably enhanced in comparison with that of pure chitosan/PVA gel, especially for hydroxyapatite-chitosan/PVA composite gels synthesized through the in situ process. The performances of composite gels containing different amounts of hydroxyapatite were further studied. For the hydroxyapatite-chitosan/PVA composite gels containing 0.1 mM hydroxyapatite synthesized through in situ process, the swelling degree was the lowest, and the speed of protein release was the slowest. Therefore, the composite gels are attractive for applications as protein delivery, artificial bones, and scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Manufacturing and evaluation of Chitosan, PVA and Aloe Vera hydrogels for skin applications

“…6 shows the absorption capacity of evaluated membranes. According to swelling experiments, membranes absorbed water very quickly, reaching a swelling equilibrium during the first 3 hours, with an increase in volume appreciably noticed by visual inspection of the samples, in agreement with Tang [22].…”

Evaluation of Multifunctional Polysaccharide Hydrogels with Varying Stiffness for Bone Tissue Engineering

“…48 Mechanical properties of the hydrogels for bone tissue engineering are increased by combining the hydrogels with particles of ceramic materials, such as b-tricalcium phosphate, hydroxyapatite, demineralized bone matrix, or calcium carbonate. 49 In this study, to obtain the required stiffness along with the mechanical properties, which mimic the ECM of the cell, crosslinking of positively charged hydrogels presents itself as a promising option. 50 While a positive charge of the hydrogel would help the cells to adhere, the crosslinker would act as a reinforcing agent to grant sufficient mechanical stiffness to the gel to enable the cells FIG.…”

Properties of Polymer Composites with Cellulose Microfibrils

“…PVA is a water-soluble and biodegradable polymer with excellent chemical resistance and an interesting material for biomedical applications. PVA has no toxic action on the human body being used to manufacture medicines cachets, yarn for surgery, controlled drug delivery systems (Tang et al, 2009). New fields of application regard cardiovascular devices (Millon and Wan, 2006), dialysis membrane, artificial cartilage, tissue engineering scaffold (Zhou et al, 2010).…”