Polymers (May 2022)

<i>Dendrobium officinale</i> Enzyme Changing the Structure and Behaviors of Chitosan/γ-poly(glutamic acid) Hydrogel for Potential Skin Care

  • Mengmeng Wang,
  • Erwei Zhang,
  • Chenrui Yu,
  • Dandan Liu,
  • Shiguang Zhao,
  • Maodong Xu,
  • Xiaofeng Zhao,
  • Wenjin Yue,
  • Guangjun Nie

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14102070
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 10
p. 2070

Abstract

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Hydrogels have been widespreadly used in various fields. But weak toughness has limited their further applications. In this study, Dendrobium officinale enzyme (DOE) was explored to improve chitosan/γ-poly(glutamic acid) (CS/γ-PGA) hydrogel in the structure and properties. The results indicated that DOE with various sizes of ingredients can make multiple noncovalent crosslinks with the skeleton network of CS/γ-PGA, significantly changing the self-assembly of CS/γ-PGA/DOE hydrogel to form regular protuberance nanostructures, which exhibits stronger toughness and better behaviors for skin care. Particularly, 4% DOE enhanced the toughness of CS/γ-PGA/DOE hydrogel, increasing it by 116%. Meanwhile, water absorption, antioxygenation, antibacterial behavior and air permeability were increased by 39%, 97%, 27% and 52%.

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