Understanding the rheological properties of a novel composite salecan/gellan hydrogels

Abstract Hydrogel matrixes with diverse adjustable functions have grabbed a lot of attention in the fields of food and biomedicine. However, due to potential biotoxicity, and high energy consumption, chemically crosslinked synthetic hydrogels are typically subjected to certain limitations during their application. This research highlights the role of physical methods in engineering novel composite hydrogels from natural polysaccharides Salecan and Gellan without any structural modification and chemical crosslinking. The rheological properties of the hydrogels were investigated to determine their flow and gel characteristics. Moreover, with the aid of Power Law, Herschel-Bulkley and Arrhenius models, the key rheological parameters are further explored and compared in detail. This is the first study reporting of a novel composite hydrogel made from gellan gum and Salecan with ideal elasticity, injectability, good thermostability, self-recovery and other rheological properties that will pave the way for application in different fields.