GELATIN HYDROGELS: EFFECT OF ETHYLENE OXIDE BASED SYNTHETIC CROSSLINKING AGENTS ON THE PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

In this paper, different kinds of bifunctional crosslinkers were chosen in order to study the effects of both the crosslinker composition and size on the characteristics of methacrylated gelatin hydrogels. In the first step, crosslinked gelatins were synthesized using photoinitiated network formation. Water uptake capacity tests were performed. It was found that the internal arrangement of hydrogels' components is strongly affecting the hydrophilicity of the materials. Also the thermal properties of gelatin are improved by the presence of the synthetic crosslinker. The rheological measurements have shown that the presence of longer crosslinkers lead to more viscous materials when compared with gelatin hydrogels.