Structural characteristics of thermosensitive chitosan glutaminate hydrogels

Hydrogels that possess the ability of gelling in response to changes in the local environment, such as pH or temperature, have been examined extensively recently. In this paper the properties of thermosensitive chitosan hydrogels prepared with the use of chitosan glutaminate and -glycerophosphate are presented. The sol/gel transition point was determined based on the rheological properties. The structure of gels was observed under the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and was investigated by thermogravimetric (TG) and differential themogravimetric (DTG) analy¬sis and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The crystallinity of gel structure was determined by X-ray Diffraction analysis (XRD).