Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
Department of Polymer Engineering, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar 9617976487, Iran
2
Catalysts and Organic Synthesis Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, 13114-16846, Iran
Abstract
Hypothesis: The biodegradable and biocompatible hydrogels from bio-based polymers are widely used in various biomedical applications, including drug delivery, tissue engineering, and wound healing. This study hypothesizes that by grafting acrylamide onto kappa-carrageenan and incorporating magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles, a hydrogel with improved properties is developed with potential for broad biomedical applications
Methods: A nanocomposite hydrogel, K-carrageenan-grafted-polyacrylamide/Fe3O4 (kC-g-PAAm/Fe3O4), was synthesized. The process involved the preparation of Fe3O4 nanoparticles and the modification of kC polysaccharide through acrylamide graft polymerization. Cross-linking reactions between polymer chains and the incorporation of Fe3O4 nanoparticles in the hydrogel matrix were carried out during the polymerization process. The chemical, morphological, thermal stability, magnetic behavior, and porosity properties of the nanocomposite hydrogel were characterized
Findings: TXRD analysis revealed that the nanocomposite hydrogel exhibited characteristic peaks corresponding to Fe3O4 and kC, indicating an improvement in crystallinity compared to pure kC-g-PAAm. TGA results showed that the nanocomposite had significantly higher thermal stability compared to pure k-carrageenan, with a residual weight of 21% at 800 °C. VSM analysis demonstrated superparamagnetic properties, with a saturation magnetization of 12.173 emu g-¹ Furthermore, BET surface area analysis indicated that kC-g-PAAm had a specific surface area of 200.55 m².g-¹, significantly higher than that of pure kC, which was attributed to the three-dimensional network formed through graft polymerization and cross-linking reactions. Swelling experiments revealed that the kC-g-PAAm hydrogel absorbed as much as 2200% of water, while the kC-g-PAAm/Fe3O4 sample showed a slightly lower swelling capacity of 2080%, due to the nanoparticles restricting the network's flexibility. Gel content analysis indicated that the retained gel fractions were 74% and 81% for kC-g-PAAm and kC-g-PAAm/Fe3O4, respectively, demonstrating enhanced network stability in the presence of nanoparticles. These findings suggest that the synthesized nanocomposite hydrogel exhibits improved properties for biomedical application.
Keywords
Main Subjects
)