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Nanostructured chitosan–gelatin hybrid aerogels produced by supercritical gel drying
Author(s) -
Baldino Lucia,
Cardea Stefano,
Reverchon Ernesto
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.24719
Subject(s) - aerogel , supercritical fluid , supercritical drying , materials science , gelatin , chitosan , glutaraldehyde , chemical engineering , polymer , supercritical carbon dioxide , morphology (biology) , composite material , organic chemistry , chemistry , biology , engineering , genetics
In this work, chitosan/gelatin (Ch/G) aerogels with a network organization were produced by supercritical gel drying. Ch structure was characterized by a cellular morphology with smooth pore walls, with a mean pore size of about 20 µm. The morphology of G aerogel was, instead, nanofibrous with a mean fiber size lower than 100 nm. The mixture between Ch and G favored Ch gelification, due to the chemical interaction among the cationic Ch and negatively charged molecules of G. Ch/G hybrid aerogels formed an interpenetrated polymer network, with enhanced mechanical properties with respect to the starting single biopolymers, achieving a Young modulus up to 181 kPa, suitable for bone tissue engineering. Moreover, high surface area (≈250 m 2 g −1 ) and negligible glutaraldehyde (GTA) residues were found after supercritical processing; in particular, the GTA residues in the aerogels were lower than 3 ppm, also in the worst case (i.e., 2.3 ppm of released GTA for the Ch/G 4/1 aerogel), making them useful for potential nanomedicine applications. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 58:1494–1499, 2018. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers