A novel thermo-responsive hydrogel based on salecan and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide): synthesis and characterization

Salecan is a novel microbial polysaccharide produced by Agrobacterium sp. ZX09. The salt-tolerant strain was isolated from a soil sample in our laboratory and the 16S rDNA sequence was deposited in the GenBank database under the accession number GU810841. Salecan is suitable to fabricate hydrogel for biomedical applications due to the excellent hydrophilicity and biocompatibility. Here, salecan has been introduced into poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) network to form novel thermo-sensitive semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (semi-IPNs). The structure of salecan/PNIPAm semi-IPNs was confirmed by Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) proved the stability of the semi-IPNs. Rheological and compressive tests revealed an elastic solid-like behavior and good mechanical properties of the hydrogels. Swelling behavior test showed the hydrogels possessed high water content at room temperature. An excellent thermo-sensitive property of fast response rates to temperature had been demonstrated as well. In vitro degradation measurements ensured the semi-IPNs were degradable. Cytotoxicity and cell adhesion study suggested the synthesized salecan/PNIPAm hydrogels were non-toxic and biocompatibility. The results indicated the novel thermo-responsive hydrogels could be a suitable candidate for biomedical applications.