Labsys evo

The thermal decomposition of the NIPAM-APTAC-AMPS nanogels was investigated using a LabSys Evo (Setaram, Caluire-et-Cuire, France) under a nitrogen atmosphere in a temperature range of 25 to 500 °C, with a heating rate of 10 °C min⁻¹. The TG curve made possible the determination of the initial decomposition temperature and the residual mass percentage. Further, the maximum thermal decomposition temperature of the NIPAM-APTAC-AMPS nanogels was calculated using the differential peaks of the DTA curve.

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis was performed in a DSC Q2000 from TA Instruments Inc. (Tzero DSC technology, New Castle, DE, USA) operating in the Heat Flow T4P option. The measurements were carried out under anhydrous high purity nitrogen at a flow rate of 50 mL/min. DSC Tzero calibration was carried out in the temperature range from −90 to 200 °C. The samples were submitted to two cooling and heating runs between −90 and 120 °C, at a rate of 10 °C/min. The samples were encapsulated in Tzero (aluminium) hermetic pans with a Tzero hermetic lid, without a pinhole to avoid water loss by evaporation.
Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was performed with a Labsys EVO (Setaram, Caluire, France). The samples were placed in an aluminum pan and analyzed in a temperature ranging between 25 and 500 °C, using a heating rate of 10 °C/min.

To evaluate the thermal behavior profiles of the collagen extracts, TGA analysis was performed in a Thermal Analysis instrument (Labsys EVO, Setaram, Caluire, France), in an argon atmosphere, within a temperature range between 25 and 700°C and a 10°C/min heat ramp.

The powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns were recorded by a Rigaku Ⅱ X-ray diffraction spectrometer (Japan Science Co., Tokyo, Japan) using Cu-Kα radiation. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) transmission spectra were performed by FTIR-65 IR spectrophotometer (Tianjin Port East Technology Co., Tianjin, China). Thermogravimetric–Differential Thermal Analysis (TG-DTA) was performed by a Labsys Evo thermogravimetric differential thermal analyzer from the Setaram Instrumentation (France) with a rate of 10 K min⁻¹ under ambient condition. The JSM-JSM7500 instrument (Japan Electronics Co., Tokyo, Japan) obtained scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was taken on the PHI5000VersaProbe instrument (Shanghai Yuzhong Industrial Co., Shanghai, China). Inductively Coupled Plasma–Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES) record was obtained by ICP-9000(N+M) atomic emission spectroscopy (Thermo Jarrel-Ash Co., Boston, MA, USA).

The small amount of the tested drug (below 10 mg) was located in an aluminum crucible with a lid and heated to a temperature of 450 °C under an argon atmosphere, using a heating rate of 5 °C/min. The LabsysEvo (Setaram Inc., Cranbury, NJ, USA) apparatus was used for the thermal analysis. For every sample, the measurement was performed under the same conditions.

Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was performed using Labsys EVO thermogravimetric equipment (Setaram, Caluire-et-Cuire, France) with a temperature range from 30 to 600 °C and a heating rate of 10 °C min⁻¹ in a nitrogen atmosphere (N₂ flow rate = 40 mL min⁻¹) [15 (link)].