Modulating stability and mechanical properties of silica–gelatin hybrid by incorporating epoxy-terminated polydimethylsiloxane oligomer

Silica-gelatin hybrids, particularly GT-G hybrids prepared by crosslinking gelatin (G) with γ-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GT), have attracted much attention in tissue engineering for diverse applications in hard or soft tissue regeneration; however, scaffolds with tunable properties are needed to meet specific requirements. In this work, a silica-gelatin hybrid (ES/GT-G) was synthesized by incorporating epoxy-terminated polydimethylsiloxane oligomer (ES) to modulate the properties of GT-G hybrid. The ES/GT-G hybrid sponge presented a 3D network structure with porosity 86.4% ± 0.9%, determined by the liquid displacement method, and average pore size 340 ± 36 μm, determined by SEM observation. Compared with GT-G hybrid material, the prepared ES/GT-G hybrid wet film showed a decrease of tensile strength from 2.79 ± 0.04 MPa to 1.87 ± 0.12 MPa, with an increase of elongation at break from 19.96 ± 0.66% to 29.86 ± 0.87%, and the ES/GT-G hybrid sponge exhibited a decline of compressive yield strength from 1.21 ± 0.04 MPa to 0.72 ± 0.06 MPa, based on the tensile and compression tests respectively. The introduction of ES enhanced the thermal denaturing temperature of GT-G by 5°C as determined by a DSC study, and increased in vitro biodegradation slightly, without significantly changing surface wettability and swelling behavior. These findings suggest that silica-gelatin hybrids with tunable properties are promising for applications from hard to soft tissue regeneration. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133 , 43059.