PREPARATION AND RESEARCH OF PROPERTIES OF COMBINED ALGINATE/GELATIN HYDROGELS

The work presents the studies on the synthesis of hydrogel material based on the natural biopolymers (sodium alginate and gelatin) for medical applications. Sodium alginate and gelatin are biocompatible, non-toxic, biodegradable polymers and renewable raw materials. Combined alginate gelatin hydrogels are formed due to the formation of a hydrogel network by simultaneous cross-linking of calcium ions of sodium alginate macromolecules, gelatin, and macro-chains of rarely cross-linked polyacrylic acid. The optimal synthesis conditions (reagent concentrations, the molar ratio of calcium ions to the number of carboxyl groups Ca2+/COOH-) of the combined hydrogels with satisfactory physicochemical and mechanical properties are determined. The dependences of the mechanical properties of alginate-gelatin hydrogels on the degree of swelling indicate a wide range of their satisfactory performance characteristics. The studies on sorption and release of analgesics (lidocaine and novocaine) show long-term release of drugs and allow predicting the possibility of their prolonged delivery. In vitro cytotoxicity analysis proved the absence of toxic effect on living cells. The results suggest that the obtained combined alginate-gelatin hydrogels are a promising material for producing hydrogel dressings for wound care.