The aim of the current study was to improve the knowledge of the gelation process of injectable thermosensitive hydrogels comprising chitosan (CS) and β-glycerophosphate disodium salt (β-GP). The sol-gel transition process was precisely tracked by means of rheological measurement, in which the viscosity changed considerably with gelation time and temperature. The zero-order kinetics model was assumed to adequately describe the extent of gelation reaction. The reaction rate constant increased continuously with the increasing temperature and β-GP concentration. According to Arrhenius equation, the activation energies of gelation reaction for the chitosan injectable hydrogels were calculated as 64.38 KJ/mol, 101.68 KJ/mol and 140.92 KJ/mol for the samples containing 4% w/v, 6% w/v and 8% w/v of β-GP, respectively. It could be an effective way to study the gelation dynamics of injectable hydrogels, and provide references for clinical practice.
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