Aqueous-Mediated Synthesis and Characterization of Gelatin Methacryloyl for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

In recent years, gelatin methacryloy¬l (GelMA)-based hydrogels have been widely used in many biomedical applications, particularly tissue engineering, due to their biocompatibility and tunable physicochemical, mechanical, and other functional properties. Phosphate buffer saline (PBS) or carbonate-bicarbonate buffer are frequently used to make GelMA. In this article, the authors provide an elegant aqueous-mediated synthesis and characterization of GelMA. The experimental conditions were optimized and extensively discussed. The results of proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the formation of GelMA with characteristic absorption peaks and chemical functional groups. The morphological analysis done with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed the porous nature of the GelMA with an average pore size of 80 microns. It was also found that the gelation properties of aqueous-mediated GelMA hydrogel were highly tunable by varying the percentage of gel concentration, which yields a wide range of tunable physicochemical properties. The preparation of this kind of aqueous-mediated GelMA is cost-effective compared to their counterparts and easy to prepare in laboratory settings with high yield under optimal conditions.