Fabrication and Characterization of Gelatin/Chitosan Hydrogel Membranes

Abstract

The gelatin/chitosan (GEL/CTS, GC) membranes have been fabricated well by a simple in-situ method. The as-prepared GC membranes were characterized by morphological surface (scanning electron microscopy, SEM), chemical (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, FT-IR), crystallinity (X-ray diffraction, XRD), thermal (thermal gravimetric analysis, TGA), mechanical (tensile test), hydrophilic (water contact angle), and swelling properties to elucidate the changes in their chemical structures and morphologies. The morphological structure of the GC membranes was found to be very smooth, non-rough and homogeneous. The FT-IR and XRD studies manifest that the GC membranes have good interaction and compatibility between GEL and CTS in the hydrogel mixture. The prepared GC membranes also obtain better thermal, mechanical and swelling properties comparing to the raw CTS molecule. These results suggest that the nontoxic GC membrane can become a preferred hydrogel membrane in the field of wound dressing or tissue-engineering applications.