Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate the changes within the physicochemical properties of gelatine (2%; 4%; 8%), carrageenan (1.5%; 2%; 2.5%) and sodium alginate (0.75%; 1%; 1.25%) hydrogels with different sodium chloride concentrations that were triggered by applying direct current (DC) of 400 mA for a duration of five minutes. There were three types of gels prepared for the purpose of the study: C, control; H, gels on the basis of hydrosols that were treated with DC; and G, gels treated with DC. In the course of the study, the authors carried out the following analyses: Texture Profile Analysis (TPA), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Swelling Ratio (SR). Furthermore, the color and pH of hydrogels were measured. The FTIR spectra showed that the structures of gelatine, carrageenan and sodium alginate do not significantly change upon applying DC. The results of TPA, SR, color and pH measurement indicate that hydrogels’ properties are significantly dependent on the type of polymer, its concentration and the type of the gel. By changing those parameters, the characteristics of such gels can be additionally tuned, which extends their applicability, e.g., in the food industry. Moreover, the analysis revealed that SR of H gel gelatine after 72 h of storage was 1.84-times higher than SR of the control sample, which indicated that this gel may be considered as a possible component for wound dressing materials.
Highlights
Hydrogels are materials composed of a polymer backbone, water and, potentially, a crosslinking agent
Our previous study revealed that using a weak direct current (DC) (10–30 mA) for a short time on inoculated agar plates inhibits the growth of S. aureus and Y. enterocolitica, and the inhibitory effect can be enhanced upon the addition of sodium chloride [35]
It is possible that visualization of changes in the pH of gelatine gels, there is a distinct boundary between the pH on thethe area of low was greater reached that the geometric of the whereand the reached measurement anode andpH
Summary
Hydrogels are materials composed of a polymer backbone, water and, potentially, a crosslinking agent. Due to their hydrophilic nature and three-dimensional polymeric network, hydrogels can absorb water or biological fluids [1]. Hydrogels can exhibit phase transition (i.e., volume change) in response to changes in external conditions, such as pH, ionic strength, temperature and electric current. These materials are known as the “stimuli-responsive” or “intelligent/smart” hydrogels [2]. Hydrogels offer the possibility of fabrication in a variety of different shapes, e.g., films, discs, rods and microparticles, which results in a variety of applications in the medical and pharmaceutical fields and other related industries [3,4]; they may find use in food production [5].
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