Effect of hydrotalcite on the swelling and mechanical behaviors for the hybrid nanocomposite hydrogels based on gelatin and hydrotalcite

A series of hybrid nanocomposite hydrogels, based on gelatin and intercalated hydrotalcite (IHT), crosslinked with glutaraldehyde, was prepared in this study. The microstructures of the IHT and sample gels were identified by X‐ray diffraction (XRD). Swelling behaviors and physical properties of these hybrid gels were investigated. XRD results indicated that exfoliation of IHT was achieved in the hybrid nanocomposite gels. The results indicated that adding a small amount of IHT could effectively decrease the swelling ratio of the hybrid gels, but adding excess IHT could increase the swelling ratio of the nanocomposite hybrid gels. The crosslinking densities (ρ_x) of the present gels varied with IHT content and swelling ratio of the gels. The drug release behaviors of these gels were also investigated. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 500–507, 2006