Development of Chitosan/Gelatin-Based Hydrogels Incorporated with Albumin Particles

Abstract

The research subject of this paper are natural polymer-based hydrogels modified with albumin particles. The proteins were obtained via the salt-induced precipitation method, and next characterized using dynamic light scattering (DLS), UV-Vis spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy. The most favorable composition showing monodispersity and particles with a size lower than 40 nm was selected for modification of hydrogels. Such systems were obtained via the photopolymerization performed under the influence of UV radiation using diacrylate poly(ethylene glycol) as a crosslinking agent and 2-hydroxy-2-methylpropiophenone as a photoinitiator. Next, the hydrogels’ swelling ability, mechanical properties, wettability and surface morphology were characterized. Moreover, FT-IR spectroscopy, incubation studies in simulated physiological liquids, pro-inflammatory activity analysis and MTT reduction assay with L929 murine fibroblasts were performed. The release profiles of proteins from hydrogels were also verified. Materials modified with proteins showed higher swelling ability, increased flexibility even by 50% and increased surface hydrophilicity. Hydrogels’ contact angles were within the range 62–69° while the tensile strength of albumin-containing hydrogels was approx. 0.11 MPa. Furthermore, the possibility of the effective release of protein particles from hydrogels in acidic environment (approximately 70%) was determined. Incubation studies showed hydrogels’ stability and lack of their degradation in tested media. The viability of fibroblasts was 89.54% for unmodified hydrogel, and approx. 92.73% for albumin-modified hydrogel, and such an increase indicated the positive impact of the albumin on murine fibroblast proliferation.

Synthesis, Characterization, Properties, and Biomedical Application of Chitosan-Based Hydrogels

“…It has been used to determine the functional groups of unknown substances and their chemical structure, observe the chemical reaction process, distinguish isomers, and analyze the purity of substances. For instance, Ba ńkosz et al [33] observed an increase in the intensity of this band in the CBH modified with albumin particles by FTIR, indicating the presence of the above-mentioned modifier, i.e., albumin particles, in the tested material. In the preparation of CBH using graft copolymerization, amino groups from chitosan were confirmed to be involved in the grafting reaction by FTIR [34].…”

Carboxymethyl chitosan-methacrylic acid gelatin hydrogel for wound healing and vascular regeneration

“…The gelation time of hydrogels with different components and different crosslinking degrees was investigated by bottle inversion method (figure 2(A)). The results are shown in table 4. With the increase of the concentration of the crosslinking agent DAPEG, the crosslinking degree of the hydrogel increased, resulting in a shorter gelation time.…”

“…However, these dressings also have significant limitations. Fibrous protein gel carries the risk of viral contamination and is relatively expensive [4]. α-cyanoacrylate adhesive produces toxic byproducts upon degradation in the body [5,6].…”

Effects of Adhesive or Non-adhesive Protein-immobilized Bioactive（Lactic Acid-ε-caprolactone）Films on Mouse Osteoblast-like Cells

“…As a result, Alb immobilized -PLCL25 films did not enhance the number and spread of the cells like FNimmobilized PLCL25 films (23) . Alb is a main plasma protein known as a cell adhesion inhibitory protein in contrast to FN and collagen (24,25) . The immobilization of bioactive substance onto PLCL films affected cell adhesion and morphological changes of MC3T3 -E1 osteoblasts in vitro.…”