Fabrication and Properties of Gelatin/Chitosan Composite Hydrogel

Gelatin/chitosan hydrogels were prepared by using glutaraldehyde as crosslinker. The porous structure was confirmed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Swelling ratios of the hydrogels with various ratio of gelatin to chitosan and crosslinker reagent dosage were studied in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). In addition, in-vitro cytotoxicity was assessed via MTT assay with fibroblastic cell cultured in hydrogel extractions. It was found that by increasing glutaraldehyde dosage and chitosan content, the swelling ratio of the hydrogels decreased in buffer solutions. The MTT test showed that the gelatin/chitosan hydrogel clearly presented adequate cell viability, non-toxicity, and suitable properties. Therefore, these developed blends, based on gelatin and chitosan has broadened the number of choices of biomaterials to be potentially used in biomedical applications such as biomaterial, drug delivery vehicles and skin tissue engineering.