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 alpha-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, (1)H 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.