In my diploma I will present different ways of crosslinking nanocellulose for the preparation of hydrogels. The term hydrogel represents a cross-linked, hydrophilic polymer that has the ability to absorb and retain large amounts of water. To prepare such a hydrogel, nanocellulose can be chemically cross-linked by adding cross-linkable polymer matrices or physically by hydrogen bonds, ion complexation and so on. In crosslinking, nanocellulose fibrils or nanocellulose crystals can be used, depending on the properties we want to achieve in the resulting hydrogel. Fibrils are structurally more easily entangled and cross-linked, while the cross-linking ability of crystals is limited due to their rigid structure. This kind of hydrogels are biocompatible and biodegradable, so they are very useful in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
|
