Preparation and properties of EDC/NHS mediated crosslinking poly (gamma-glutamic acid)/epsilon-polylysine hydrogels

作者:Hua, Jiachuan; Li, Zheng*; Xia, Wen; Yang, Ning; Gong, Jixian; Zhang, Jianfei*; Qiao, Changsheng
来源:Materials Science & Engineering C-Materials for Biological Applications, 2016, 61: 879-892.
DOI:10.1016/j.msec.2016.01.001

摘要

In this paper, a novel pH-sensitive poly (amino acid) hydrogel based on poly gamma-glutamic acid (gamma-PGA) and epsilon-polylysine (epsilon-PL) was prepared by carbodiimide (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) mediated polymerization. The influence of PGA/PL molar ratio and EDC/NHS concentration on the structure and properties was studied. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) proved that hydrogels were crosslinked through amide bond linkage, and the conversion rate of a carboxyl group could reach 96%. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed a regularly porous structure with 20 mu m pore size in average. The gelation time in the crosslink process of PGA/PL hydrogels was within less than 5 min. PGA/PL hydrogels had excellent optical performance that was evaluated by a novel optotype method. Furthermore, PGA/PL hydrogels were found to be pH sensitive, which could be adjusted to the pH of swelling media intelligently. The terminal pH of swelling medium could be controlled at 5 +/- 1 after equilibrium when the initial pH was within 3-11. The swelling kinetics was found to follow a Voigt model in deionized water but a pseudo-second-order model in normal saline and phosphate buffer solution, respectively. The differential swelling degrees were attributed to the swelling theory based on the different ratio of -COOH/NH2 and pore size in hydrogels. The results of mechanical property indicated that PGA/PL hydrogels were soft and elastic. Moreover, PGA/PL hydrogels exhibited excellent biocompatibility by cell proliferation experiment. PGA/PL hydrogels could be degraded in PBS solution and the degradation rate was decreased with the increase of the molar ratio of PL. Considering the simple preparation process and pH-sensitive property, these PGA/PL hydrogels might have high potential for use in medical and clinical fields.