Sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonate/gelatin hydrogels for use as wound dressings: preparation, characterization and cytocompatibility

In this research, hydrogel for biomedical use as a wound dressing was consisted of sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonate (Na-AMPS) and gelatin with different compositions by UV-photoinitiation. It was found that this method gave high percentage of gel fraction. The hydrogels were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and gel fraction, water transport, mechanical and cytocompatibility studies. As increasing of gelatin ratio, it increased water content, swelling ratio and water vapor transmission rate. The mechanical property results confirmed that gelatin improved mechanical properties of the hydrogels, presented in terms of stress and percent strain of the hydrogel. Furthermore, cytocompatibility studies demonstrated that all prepared hydrogels are not cytotoxic and gelatin also supports cell growth. These investigations indicated that the synthesized Na-AMPS and gelatin hydrogels are promising candidates for use as wound dressings and can be immediately applied to the wound without any harm.