Issue 26, 2024

An investigation of water status in gelatin methacrylate hydrogels by means of water relaxometry and differential scanning calorimetry

Abstract

The relationship between molecular structure and water dynamics is a fundamental yet often neglected subject in the field of hydrogels for drug delivery, bioprinting, as well as biomaterial science and tissue engineering & regenerative medicine (TE&RM). Water is a fundamental constituent of hydrogel systems and engages via hydrogen bonding with the macromolecular network. The methods and techniques to measure and reveal the phenomena and dynamics of water within hydrogels are still limited. In this work, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used as a quantitative method to analyze freezable (including free and freezable bound) and non-freezable bound water within gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) hydrogels. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a complementary method for the study of water behavior and can be used to measure the spin-relaxation of water hydrogen nuclei, which is related to water dynamics. In this research, nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometry was employed to investigate the molecular state of water in GelMA hydrogels using spin–lattice (T1) and spin–spin (T2) spin-relaxation time constants. The data displays a trend of increasing bound water content with increasing GelMA concentration. In addition, T2 values were further applied to calculate microviscosity and translational diffusion coefficients. Water relaxation under various chemical environments, including different media, temperatures, gelatin sources, as well as crosslinking effects, were also examined. These comprehensive physical data sets offer fundamental insight into biomolecule transport within the GelMA hydrogel system, which ultimately are important for drug delivery, bioprinting, as well as biomaterial science and TE&RM communities.

Graphical abstract: An investigation of water status in gelatin methacrylate hydrogels by means of water relaxometry and differential scanning calorimetry

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
09 Jan 2024
Accepted
09 Apr 2024
First published
17 Apr 2024

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024,12, 6328-6341

An investigation of water status in gelatin methacrylate hydrogels by means of water relaxometry and differential scanning calorimetry

C. Chang, B. L. Dargaville, K. I. Momot and D. W. Hutmacher, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024, 12, 6328 DOI: 10.1039/D4TB00053F

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