Physicochemical Properties of Biopolymer Hydrogels Treated by Direct Electric Current

Abstract

Abstract:The objective of this study was to evaluate the changes within the physicochemical properties of gelatine (2%; 4%; 8%), carrageenan (1.5%; 2%; 2.5%) and sodium alginate (0.75%; 1%; 1.25%) hydrogels with different sodium chloride concentrations that were triggered by applying direct current (DC) of 400 mA for a duration of five minutes. There were three types of gels prepared for the purpose of the study: C, control; H, gels on the basis of hydrosols that were treated with DC; and G, gels treated with DC. In the course of the study, the authors carried out the following analyses: Texture Profile Analysis (TPA), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Swelling Ratio (SR). Furthermore, the color and pH of hydrogels were measured. The FTIR spectra showed that the structures of gelatine, carrageenan and sodium alginate do not significantly change upon applying DC. The results of TPA, SR, color and pH measurement indicate that hydrogels' properties are significantly dependent on the type of polymer, its concentration and the type of the gel. By changing those parameters, the characteristics of such gels can be additionally tuned, which extends their applicability, e.g., in the food industry. Moreover, the analysis revealed that SR of H gel gelatine after 72 h of storage was 1.84-times higher than SR of the control sample, which indicated that this gel may be considered as a possible component for wound dressing materials.

Wet-electrospun PHBV nanofiber reinforced carboxymethyl chitosan-silk hydrogel composite scaffolds for articular cartilage repair

“…It was measured by the ratio of the up stroke energy and down stroke energy of the first compression (A 2–3 /A 1–2 ). 52–55 Accordingly, the obtained mechanical properties of the produced hydrogel scaffolds from TPA are given in Table 3. The hardness values of the samples increased with the cross-linker ratio as well as fiber incorporation.…”

Composite Biopolymer-Based Wafer Dressings Loaded with Microbial Biosurfactants for Potential Application in Chronic Wounds

“…FTIR spectroscopy was employed to characterize the structure and the possible interactions in CARR and SA networks in comparison with their pure standards. Both CARR and SA are polyelectrolytes tend to form physical hydrogels with mono and polyvalent metallic cations [45].…”

Cytotoxicity, Bactericidal, and Antioxidant Activity of Sodium Alginate Hydrosols Treated with Direct Electric Current

“…SAEW application minimizes the effect on human health and safety issues from Cl 2 off-gassing, reduces corrosion of equipment, and limits phototoxic side effects while maximizing the application of hypochlorous acid species [13]. Despite great potential of electrolyzed saline solutions, there is no research on the use of hydrosols or hydrogels with antibacterial activity resulting from DC application with the exception of our studies [11,14,15]. …”