Tannic acid modified keratin/sodium alginate/carboxymethyl chitosan biocomposite hydrogels with good mechanical properties and swelling behavior

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 12864 - 16
• Main Authors: Zhu, Liqing, Ouyang, Fenfen, Fu, Xue, Wang, Yimei, Li, Ting, Wen, Min, Zha, Guodong, Yang, Xue
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 04.06.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/166/985; 639/301/54/990; Alginates - chemistry; Alginic acid; Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antioxidants - chemistry; Antioxidants - pharmacology; Biocompatible Materials - chemistry; Biocompatible Materials - pharmacology; Cell Survival - drug effects; Cell viability; Chitosan; Chitosan - analogs & derivatives; Chitosan - chemistry; E coli; Elastic Modulus; Escherichia coli - drug effects; Fourier transforms; Freezing; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Hydrogels; Hydrogels - chemistry; Hydrogen bonding; Infrared spectroscopy; Keratin; Keratins - chemistry; Mechanical properties; Medical dressings; multidisciplinary; Polymers; Scanning electron microscopy; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sodium; Sodium alginate; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Tannic acid; Tannins - chemistry; Wound healing; Wound Healing - drug effects; Tannic acid; Keratin; Wound healing; Hydrogels
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-63186-6

Natural polymer-based hydrogels have demonstrated great potential as wound-healing dressings. They help to maintain a moist wound environment as well as promote faster healing. In this work, a multifunctional hydrogel was prepared using keratin, sodium alginate, and carboxymethyl chitosan with tannic acid modification. Micro-morphology of hydrogels has been performed by scanning electron microscopy. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy reveals the presence of hydrogen bonding. The mechanical properties of the hydrogels were examined using a universal testing machine. Furthermore, we investigated several properties of the modified hydrogel. These properties include swelling rate, water retention, anti-freezing properties, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, hemocompatibility evaluation and cell viability test in vitro. The modified hydrogel has a three-dimensional microporous structure, the swelling rate was 1541.7%, the elastic modulus was 589.74 kPa, the toughness was 211.74 kJ/m 3 , and the elongation at break was 75.39%, which was similar to the human skin modulus. The modified hydrogel also showed inhibition of S. aureus and E. coli , as well as a DPPH scavenging rate of 95%. In addition, the modified hydrogels have good biological characteristics. Based on these findings, the K/SA/CCS hydrogel holds promise for applications in biomedical engineering.