A kind of novel biodegradable hydrogel made from copolymerization of gelatin with polypseudorotaxanes based on α-CDs

A kind of novel biodegradable supramolecular hydrogel was synthesized via copolymerization of gelatin methacrylamide with photocurable and biodegradable polypseudorotaxanes under UV irradiation. These polypseudorotaxanes were prepared by supramolecular self-assemblies of α-cyclodextrins threaded onto amphiphilic LA-PEG-LA copolymers end-capped with methacryloyl groups. The hydrogels are injectable, and their structure was characterized in detail with FTIR, ¹H NMR, XRD, TG and DSC techniques. Their swelling behaviour and morphologies were also examined. The analytical results demonstrated that the channel-type crystalline structure of the polypseudorotaxanes remains in the as-obtained hydrogels. Moreover, the SEM pictures showed that the hydrogels having gelatin methacrylamide are more suitable for cell seeding and proliferation than those without gelatin added.