Comparison and evaluation of in vitro degradation behaviors of organosilicone-modified gelatin hybrids

Degradation behavior is one of the most important characteristics of biomedical materials for their applications. Herein, we systematically investigate the in vitro degradation behaviors of γ-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GT) and/or epoxy-terminated polydimethylsiloxane oligomer (ES)-modified gelatin hybrid materials in physiological conditions. Their microscopic appearance, chemical composition, thermal performance, and mechanical properties at different degradation periods were thoroughly characterized by a series of measurements. It was found that the degradation behavior of silica–gelatin hybrids could be modulated by controlling the proportion of GT to ES oligomers. In particular, ES/GT-G hybrid as a result of combination of ES and GT, exhibited a faster degradation rate than that of GT-G hybrid when using merely GT, and showed a more homogeneous degradation behavior during the degradation process. Additionally, these silica–gelatin hybrids showed low cytotoxicity to human renal epithelial cells, and the cell viability was all above 83%. This work is helpful for a further insight into the in vivo degradation of silica–gelatin hybrid scaffolds, which are promising in biomedical applications.