Characterization and Properties of Hydrogels Made from Neutral Soluble Chitosans

The current paper focuses on the preparation and some characteristics of viscoelastic hydrogels, ViscoGels (TM), made from chitosans having a random acylation pattern. Three different chitosan batches with a high fraction of acetylation were selected based on their M-w, and the impact of degree of cross-linking on these chitosan samples has been studied with respect to the properties of the final hydrogels. Rheological long term (12 month) stability and gelling kinetics data are presented together with results from swelling studies at different pH. Finally, an example illustrating these gels potential as drug delivery vehicles is presented and discussed.