Investigating physical and rheological characteristics of Xanthan-based hydrogels utilizing various crosslinking agents

Biopolymers such as polysaccharidesare are largely used to prepare hydrogels [1]. Hydrogels consist of polymeric networks that can absorb large quantities of water whileremaining insoluble in aqueous solutions due to the chemical or physical crosslinking of individual polymer chains [2].Knowing that the majority of the polysaccharides are biocompatible and/or biodegradable, their applications are increasing in medical apparatus [1]. Xanthan gels are used in avariety of biomedical applications such as: ophthalmology, implantology, tissue engineering and controlled drug releasesystems [3]. In order to form chemical gels, Xanthan was usually crosslinked with epichlorhydrin [3], however, it is known that this crosslinking agent is toxic and carcinogenic [4]. For this reason, the use of non-toxic agents for the hydrogels synthesis is recommended. To reach this aim, wesynthesize Xanthan hydrogels using a new crosslinker: Potassium peroxodisulfate (KPS) as an initiator in thepresence of Methylene bisacrylamide (MBA) as crosslinker. In the present study, we focus on the rheological properties of such hydrogels. We have also investigated the effect of some synthesis conditions such as temperature on the storage modulus of the hydrogel network.