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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
FucoPol, a fucose-rich polyanionic polysaccharide, was used for the first time for the
preparation of hydrogel membranes (HMs) using Fe3+ as a crosslinking agent. This study evaluated
the impact of Fe3+ and FucoPol concentrations on the HMs’ strength. The results show that, above
1.5 g/L, Fe3+ concentration had a limited influence on the HMs’ strength, and varying the FucoPol
concentration had a more significant effect. Three different FucoPol concentrations (1.0, 1.75 and
2.5 wt.%) were combined with Fe3+ (1.5 g/L), resulting in HMs with a water content above 97 wt.%
and an Fe3+ content up to 0.16 wt.%. HMs with lower FucoPol content exhibited a denser porous
microstructure as the polymer concentration increased. Moreover, the low polymer content HM
presented the highest swelling ratio (22.3 1.8 g/g) and a lower hardness value (32.4 5.8 kPa).
However, improved mechanical properties (221.9 10.2 kPa) along with a decrease in the swelling
ratio (11.9 1.6 g/g) were obtained for HMs with a higher polymer content. Furthermore, all
HMs were non-cytotoxic and revealed anti-inflammatory activity. The incorporation of FucoPol as a
structuring agent and bioactive ingredient in the development of HMs opens up new possibilities for
its use in tissue engineering, drug delivery and wound care management.
Description
Keywords
hydrogel membranes FucoPol ionotropic gelation biocompatibility anti-inflammatory activity
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Araújo, D.; Martins, M.; Concórdio-Reis, P.; Roma-Rodrigues, C.; Morais, M.; Alves, V.D.; Fernandes, A.R.; Freitas, F. Novel Hydrogel Membranes Based on the Bacterial Polysaccharide FucoPol: Design, Characterization and Biological Properties. Pharmaceuticals 2023, 16, 991.
Publisher
MDPI