The effect of stabilizing agents on physicochemical properties and cell viability of composite hydrogel Collagen/Selenium nanoparticles

As the most abundant protein in the human body, collagen has been drawing the attention of many researchers from the biomedical field for a long time. It can be found as a constituent in versatile commercially available products. In the hydrogel form, it is used often in designing novel platforms for drug delivery or cell growth. On the other side, Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) are a relatively new selenium form that has proven records in enhanced antimicrobial, anticancer, antiviral, antioxidative activity, and reduced toxicity compared to other selenium forms. Therefore, in this work, we have examined the effects of different stabilizing agents, used in the preparation of selenium nanoparticles, on the formation, structure, and biocompatibility of composite hydrogel Collagen/SeNPs. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), optical microscopy, and cell viability (MTT assay) were used for the characterizations of obtained hydrogels. SeNPs were synthesized by the chemical reduction in the form of colloidal solutions using (i) bovine serum albumin, (ii) chitosan, and(iii) glucose as stabilizing agents