Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Institute of Hepatobiliary Diseases of Wuhan University, Transplant Center of Wuhan University, Hubei Key Laboratory of Medical Technology on Transplantation, Wuhan, 430071, China.
Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Institute of Hepatobiliary Diseases of Wuhan University, Transplant Center of Wuhan University, Hubei Key Laboratory of Medical Technology on Transplantation, Wuhan, 430071, China.
Carbohydr Polym. 2021 May 1;259:117707. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.117707. Epub 2021 Jan 30.
Chitin hydrogels have multiple advantages of nontoxicity, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and three-dimensional hydrophilic polymer network structure similar to the macromolecular biological tissue. However, the mechanical strength of chitin hydrogels is relatively weak. Construction of chitin hydrogels with high mechanical strength and good biocompatibility is essential for the successful applications in biomedical field. Herein, we developed double crosslinked chitin hydrogels by dissolving chitin in KOH/urea aqueous solution with freezing-thawing process, then using KH560 as cross-linking agent and coagulating in ethanol solution at low temperature. The obtained chitin/ KH560 (CK) hydrogels displayed good transparency and toughness with compressed nanofibrous network and porous structure woven with chitin nanofibers. Moreover, the optimal CK hydrogels exhibited excellent mechanical properties (σ = 1.92 ± 0.21 Mpa; ε = 71 ± 5 %), high swelling ratio, excellent blood compatibility, biocompatibility and biodegradability, which fulfill the requirements of biomedical materials and showing potential applications in biomedicine.
壳聚糖水凝胶具有无毒、生物相容性、可生物降解性和类似于高分子生物组织的三维亲水性聚合物网络结构等多种优点。然而，壳聚糖水凝胶的机械强度相对较弱。构建具有高机械强度和良好生物相容性的壳聚糖水凝胶对于成功应用于生物医学领域至关重要。在此，我们通过在 KOH/尿素水溶液中进行冷冻-解冻过程溶解壳聚糖，然后使用 KH560 作为交联剂，并在低温下的乙醇溶液中凝固，制备了双交联壳聚糖水凝胶。所得壳聚糖/ KH560（CK）水凝胶具有良好的透明度和韧性，压缩后呈现出由壳聚糖纳米纤维编织而成的纳米纤维网络和多孔结构。此外，最优 CK 水凝胶表现出优异的机械性能（σ=1.92±0.21Mpa；ε=71±5%）、高溶胀比、优异的血液相容性、生物相容性和生物降解性，满足了生物医学材料的要求，在生物医学领域具有应用潜力。
