1P-48 : Oxidized succinoglycan crosslinked gelatin hydrogels with excellent mechanical properties and thermal stability

Gelatin hydrogels are attracted attention in biomedical and pharmaceutical fields due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and cost-effectiveness etc. Despite these advantages, poor mechanical properties and thermal instability greatly limit the longterm use of gelatin hydrogels for practical applications. To overcome these limitations, dually crosslinked hydrogels were developed by imparting chemical crosslinking to existing physical crosslinked gelatin networks using oxidized succinoglycan (OSG) as a macromolecular crosslinker. The synthesized OSG crosslinked gelatin hydrogels (OSG/Gel) showed 1040% mechanical improvement in storage modulus (G’) compared to that of pure gelatin hydrogel. Also, chemical crosslinking induced by OSG increased thermal stability of gelatin hydrogel to the extent that it did not degrade at 70°C, confirmed by oscillatory temperature ramp experiments. This resultant OSG/Gel have potential for long-term use in biomedical applications.