Synthesis and Characterization of Chitosan-Acrylic Acid Based Hydrogels and Investigation the Properties of Bilayered Design with Incorporated Alginate Beads
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Date
2022-05-16
Authors
Erceg, Tamara
Brakus, Gaja
Stupar, Alena 
Cvetinov, Miroslav
Hadnađev, Miroslav
Ristić, Ivan
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer Nature
Abstract
The paper presents the synthesis of hydrogels via free-radical polymerization, based on Chitosan (CS) grafted with Acrylic acid (AA), using a two-step procedure. Free-radical polymerization has given strong hydrogels with compact structure, dominant elastic behavior, and long linear viscoelastic region. The results of rheological studies have shown that obtained hydrogels have significantly improved mechanical properties in comparison to chitosan hydrogels obtained by other sustainable methods. A step forward in the investigation of the potential application of chitosan hydrogels in wound dressing systems has been made by preparation of the bilayer design by embedding a layer of active compound-loaded alginate beads into the contact surface between two conjoined units of CS/AA hydrogels. Wild garlic (Allium ursinum L.) dried extract was used as an active compound because of its antimicrobial activity and green properties. This system has demonstrated pH-dependent release of extract and higher shear elastic modulus values than ordinary disc gels. A conducted study has given preliminary results for the possible application of bilayer chitosan-based hydrogels in wound dressing systems and represents the first step towards extrapolating the proposed design across other application fields.
Description
Keywords
Chitosan hydrogels, Free-radical polymerization, Alginate beads, Bilayer design, Rheological properties
Citation
Erceg, T., Brakus, G., Stupar, A., Cvetinov, M., Hadnađev, M., & Ristić, I. (2022). Synthesis and Characterization of Chitosan-Acrylic Acid Based Hydrogels and Investigation the Properties of Bilayered Design With Incorporated Alginate Beads. Journal of Polymers and the Environment, 30, 3737–3760.