[Zurück]

R. Reichsöllner, L. Rebers, A. Southan, S. Baudis:
"Physical and Chemical Characterization during the Photocuring Process of Gelatin Hydrogels";
Vortrag: New Frontiers in Biofabrication: From Biomolecules to Tissues and Organs, Leuven, Belgium; 17.09.2019 - 18.09.2019.

Gelatin hydrogel biomaterials are regarded as promising candidates for many medical applications due to favorable biocompatibility and biodegradability. To produce gelatin hydrogels with appropriate mechanical properties at physiological temperatures, crosslinking procedures are often needed to stabilize physical gelatin hydrogels.
Light-initiated crosslinking methods provide spatiotemporal crosslinking-control for applications like cell-encapsulation and 3D-printing. For photo-crosslinking of gelatin, modification with norbornene or allyl groups enables step-growth controlled networks via thiol-ene "Click" reactions. Most prominently, free-radical chain-growth polymerization of methacryloyl (MA) gelatin has been investigated in a broad spectrum of applications. [1-3]
In addition to covalent crosslinking, physical gelation processes like formation of helices and quaternary superstructures in gelatin significantly influence the mechanics of resulting hydrogels. Recently, the mechanical properties of gelatin-MA hydrogels have been investigated for cooled/pregelled versus 37 °C hydrogel formulations to demonstrate the bimodal interplay of physical and chemical gelation mechanics. [4]
To better understand similar complex precursor systems and the resulting hydrogel networks, we have developed and established a RT-NIR-photorheology [5] method for simultaneous recording of physical and chemical information during the chemical and physical gelation process. Information generated from this method can be directed towards the rational design of novel complex precursor and hydrogel systems with optimized gelation and mechanical properties.

Gelatin hydrogel biomaterials, medical applications, biocompatibility and biodegradability, light-initiated crosslinking methods, cell-encapsulation and 3D-printing