Development of and characterization of gelatin-poly ethylene glycol composite hydrogels and gelatin-polysaccharide physical hydrogels

The present study describes properties of the gelatin/PEG based composite hydrogels and emphasizes on the properties of the gelatin and different polysaccharides based composite physical hydrogels (PHs). The hydrogels were prepared by varying the concentration of gelatin and PEG and PH was prepared by varying the concentration of gelatin and polysaccharides in different ratios. The gels were prepared either with or without glutaraldehyde, a chemical crosslinker. The pH and hemocompatibility properties of the hydrogels were also studied. The in vitro release behavior of metronidazole (MZ, a model drug) was studied. The results suggested that the properties of the hydrogels were dependant on the proportion of the gelatin and PEG & gelatin and different polysaccharides based composite physical hydrogels. The pHs of the hydrogels were in the range of 4.00-6.00 and were hemocompatible in nature. The developed gels may be used as a carrier for controlled drug delivery of bioactive agents.