pH sensitivity and ion sensitivity of hydrogels based on complex-forming chitosan/silk fibroin interpenetrating polymer network

✍ Scribed by Xin Chen; Wenjun Li; Wei Zhong; Yuhua Lu; Tongyin Yu

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 151 KB
• Volume: 65
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-8995
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4628(19970912)65:11<2257::aid-app23>3.0.co;2-z

✦ Synopsis

A novel natural polymer blend, namely, a semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) composed of crosslinked chitosan with glutaraldehyde and silk fibroin was prepared. The FTIR spectra of the semi-IPN manifested that the chitosan and silk fibroin had a strong hydrogen-bond interaction and formed an interpolymer complex. The semi-IPN showed good pH sensitivity and ion sensitivity. According to the different swelling ratios of the semi-IPN in the buffer solution with different pH values or the AlCl 3 aqueous solution with different concentrations, the semi-IPN could swell and shrink while being put alternately into different pH buffer solutions or AlCl 3 aqueous with different concentrations. The semi-IPN could also act as an ''artificial muscle'' because its swelling-shrinking behavior exhibited a fine reversibility.