Hydrogels based on crosslinked polyethylene glycol diacrylate and fish skin gelatin

The aim of this work was to develop hydrogels based on poly(ethylene glycol diacrylate) (PEGDA) and fish gelatin for potential biomedical applications such as wound healing, drug delivery and biosensors. The hydrogels were prepared via in situ Michael addition of ammonia crosslinker to PEGDA in the presence of cold-water fish skin gelatin that was used as an additive. The fabrication conditions and properties of the hydrogels were examined using various amounts of fish gelatin to evaluate the influence of its concentration on gelation time, crosslinking density and swelling behavior of the hydrogels. FTIR spectra confirmed the formation of the crosslinked hydrogels and the degree of conversion (DC) of the double bonds for the hydrogels containing 5, 7.5 and 10 % w/v of gelatin was between 72 and 80 %. Fish skin gelatin had a strong effect on the dimentional stability and water absorbing properties of the hydrogels and the system containing 7.5 % w/v gelatin exhibited the longest swelling time of 18 h. The hydrophilicity of the hydrogels was achieved by covalent grafting of the residual double bonds with thiol-containing small hydrocarbon molecules using thiol-ene click chemistry reaction conditions, leading to the increase of the water contact angle from 0° to 60°-73°.