Preparation and Characterization of Hydrogels of Several Polysaccarides for Biomaterials Applications Hydrogels for Biomaterials Applications

The advantages of hydrogels as biomedical materials and their performance in applications depend on their molecular structures. Two hydrogels derived from biopolymers such as alginate and chitosan obtained from natural sources were prepared and characterized for biomaterials applications. Morphology of the crosslinked material was investigated by using SEM. Swelling behavior of chitosan/polycaprolactone and chitosan/alginate hydrogels in different compositions was studied. The biopolymer hydrogels thus prepared were used for cell growth experiments. To measure the degree of cell proliferation, the gels were seeded with L929 mouse fibroblasts. The cell growth properties were followed by SEM photographs. It was found that the population of cells in the cross-linked polymer gels increased