Characterization of Self-Healing and Injectable Keratin Pectin Hydrogels

Abstract

This report consists of 4 months of a summer credited internship project in Indonesia International Institute of Life Sciences, or also known as i3L, in Jakarta, Indonesia. This project was integrated with the pharmacy department which aimed to develop a new promising biomaterial for wound healing. Within this project, keratin was extracted from human hair, and the extracted keratin samples were combined with pectin to develop a self-healing and injectable hydrogel. The intern evaluated different combinations of salt solutions and polymer concentrations that work the best for the self-healing and injectability of the hydrogel. Lastly, the intern evaluated and characterized this hydrogel by its self-healing and injectability properties, as well as swelling and erosion studies.