Rheology of Chitosan Hydrogels

We study the rheological properties of chitosan-based hydrogels. We form the hydrogels using a standard procedure and use oscillatory rheology to characterize the resulting samples. We experimentally study the gelation process of chitosan to optimize the preparation of chitosan-based hydrogels. We observe how changing the concentration of the chemical cross linker affects the gelation process. Not surprisingly, varying the preparation protocol affects the rheological properties of the hydrogels.