Synthesis and Characterization of Gelatin-Based Magnetic Hydrogels

A simple preparation of thermoreversible gelatin-based ferrogels in water provides a constant structure defined by the crosslinking degree for gelatin contents between 6 and 18 wt%. The possibility of varying magnetite nanoparticle concentration between 20 and 70 wt% is also reported. Simulation studies hint at the suitability of collagen to bind iron and hydroxide ions, suggesting that collagen acts as a nucleation seed to iron hydroxide aggregation, and thus the intergrowth of collagen and magnetite nanoparticles already at the precursor stage. The detailed structure of the individual ferrogel components is characterized by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) using contrast matching. The magnetite structure characterization is supplemented by small-angle X-ray scattering and microscopy only visualizing magnetite. SANS shows an unchanged gelatin structure of average mesh size larger than the nanoparticles with respect to gel concentration while the magnetite nanoparticles size of around 10 nm seems to be limited by the gel mesh size. Swelling measurements underline that magnetite acts as additional crosslinker and therefore varying the magnetic and mechanical properties of the ferrogels. Overall, the simple and variable synthesis protocol, the cheap and easy accessibility of the components as well as the biocompatibility of the gelatin-based materials suggest them for a number of applications including actuators.