Abstract
A series of nanoporous sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (NaCMC) hydrogel beads were prepared using FeCl3 ionic crosslinker by changing polymer and crosslinker percentages (%). Characteristics of the hydrogels were investigated by gel content, swelling test, degradation test, Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscope/Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (SEM/EDX), and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Swelling experiments were studied by changing time, temperature, and pH. The swelling percentage (S%) regularly decreased with increasing the amounts of polymer and crosslinker, in contrast with gel content results. NaCMC hydrogels were found to be sensitive to pH variations. The degradation test showed that hydrogels had good stability and their degradation period varied from 30 to 36 days. According to SEM analysis, NaCMC hydrogels had mostly nanoporous structure. The average granule and pore sizes of the least swollen NaCMC-12 hydrogel were found to be 13.1±0.3 nm and 82.1±3.2 nm. The elemental compositions of hydrogels were determined with EDX. The minimum average surface roughness (Ra) and root mean square roughness (Rms) parameters were found to be 15.7±1.9 nm and 20.3±2.2 nm for NaCMC-12 hydrogels by AFM. Due to their good morphologies, stabilities, and swelling behaviors, NaCMC hydrogels can be suitable for biomaterial applications.
Highlights
Hydrogels are hydrophilic polymeric materials having threedimensional network structures and can swell considerably in aqueous medium without being dissolved [1]
Nanoporous nanoporous sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (NaCMC) hydrogel beads were successfully synthesized by ionic crosslinking method
The characterization was conducted with Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscope/Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (SEM/EDX), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), gel content, and swelling and degradation tests
Summary
Hydrogels are hydrophilic polymeric materials having threedimensional network structures and can swell considerably in aqueous medium without being dissolved [1] Their affinity to absorb water is attributed to existence of chemical groups such as carboxylic acid, amine, hydroxyl, amide, and sulfonic acid groups [2]. They have been extensively studied and used for many applications in medicine, such as controlled drug release matrices [3,4,5], enzyme and yeast cell immobilizations [6, 7], and agriculture [8, 9]. The pore structure features of the hydrogels, especially in terms of the porosity, pore architecture, and pore size distribution, are strongly needed for allowing the threedimensional cell and tissue infiltration in tissue engineering applications [12]
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