Author(s):
Araújo, Diana ; Martins, Matilde ; Concórdio-Reis, Patrícia ; Roma-Rodrigues, Catarina ; Morais, Maria ; Alves, Vítor D. ; Fernandes, Alexandra R. ; Freitas, Filomena
Date: 2023
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/159722
Origin: Repositório Institucional da UNL
Project/scholarship:
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDP%2F04378%2F2020/PT;
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDB%2F04378%2F2020/PT;
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/LA%2FP%2F0140%2F2020/PT;
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDP%2F04129%2F2020/PT;
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/LA%2FP%2F0037%2F2020/PT;
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDP%2F50025%2F2020/PT;
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDB%2F50025%2F2020/PT;
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT//SFRH%2FBD%2F140829%2F2018/PT;
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT//SFRH%2FBPD%2F124612%2F2016/PT;
Subject(s): anti-inflammatory activity; biocompatibility; FucoPol; hydrogel membranes; ionotropic gelation; Molecular Medicine; Pharmaceutical Science; Drug Discovery
Description
Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
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.
