Synthesis and Rheological Studies of Ionic Hydrogels of Chitosan with 5-Norbornene-2,3-dicarboxylic Acid

In this study, 5-norbornene-2,3-dicarboxylic acid has been used for the first time as crosslinker to obtain chitosan hydrogels. The formation of ionic crosslinks between chitosan and the diacid has been confirmed by means of IR spectroscopy. The obtained ionic hydrogels have been characterized by means of DSC and rheological tests in the frequency sweep mode. Shear moduli and parameters of the molecular structure of the obtained hydrogel network depending on the diacid concentration have been calculated basing on the rheological data and the generalized viscoelastic Maxwell model.