title: Facile fabrication of moldable antibacterial carboxymethyl chitosan supramolecular hydrogels cross-linked by metal ions complexation.
abstract: Herein, carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCh) supramolecular hydrogels cross-linked by metal ions (Ag+, Cu2+and Zn2+) are reported. The hydrogels were formed within a few seconds by simple mixing of CMCh solution with metallic salt solutions at an appropriate pH. The prepared hydrogels were characterized by using FT-IR, XRD, SEM and rotational rheometery. FT-IR measurements suggested that the facile complexation of metal ions with carboxylic, amino and hydroxyl groups of CMCh chains promoted the rapid hydrogelation. SEM images revealed a cross-linked structure of hydrogels, while microstructural openings were observed by cross-sectional studies of the freeze-dried hydrogels. Moreover, the hydrogels showed a remarkable moldability to form free standing objects. The antibacterial activities of the hydrogels were also studied against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus by agar well diffusion method. The results demonstrated an excellent antibacterial activity of the supramolecular hydrogels. Therefore, the developed CMCh supramolecular hydrogels might be used effectively in biomedical field.
authors.affiliation: College of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, No. 29, 13th Avenue, TEDA, Tianjin 300457, China.
authors.forename: Fazli
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wahid
authors.affiliation: College of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, No. 29, 13th Avenue, TEDA, Tianjin 300457, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Song
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology (Ministry of Education), Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457, China.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: College of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, No. 29, 13th Avenue, TEDA, Tianjin 300457, China. Electronic address: chuliqiang@tust.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Li-Qiang
authors.initials: LQ
authors.lastname: Chu
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D048271:Chitosan / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006016:Glycolates; D020100:Hydrogels; D007477:Ions; D008055:Lipids; D008670:Metals; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus; D014810:Vitamin E
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D006016:Glycolates; D020100:Hydrogels; D007477:Ions; D008055:Lipids; D008670:Metals; C503437:Scherilan; C514968:carboxymethyl-chitosan; D014810:Vitamin E; D048271:Chitosan
keywords: Antibacterial activity; Carboxymethyl chitosan; Metal ions complexation; Supramolecular hydrogel