title: Bacterial cellulose gels with high mechanical strength.
abstract: A composite structure was formed between polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) and bacterial cellulose (BC) gels swollen in polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a solvent (BC/PEG gel) to improve the mechanical strength of the gels. The mechanical strength under compression and the rheostatic properties of the gels were evaluated. The compression test results indicated that the mechanical strength of the gels depended on the weight percent of cross-linked PEGDA in the gel, the chain length between the cross-linking points, and the cross-linking density of PEGDA polymers. The PEGDA polymers around the cellulose fibers were resistant to pressure; thus, the BC/PEG-PEGDA gel was stronger than the BC/PEG gel under compression. The results of transmittance measurements and thermomechanical analysis showed that the rheostatic properties of the gels were retained even after composite structure formation. BC/PEG-PEGDA gels, which are expected to be biocompatible, may be useful for clinical applications as a soft material.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Chemistry, Asahikawa National College of Technology, Asahikawa 071-8142, Japan. Electronic address: numata@res.otaru-uc.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yukari
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Numata
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Chemistry, Asahikawa National College of Technology, Asahikawa 071-8142, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadanori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakata
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University, Yonezawa 992-8510, Japan.
authors.forename: Hidemitsu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8628, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tajima
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000737:chemistry*; D002482:Cellulose; D005782:Gels; D008422:Materials Testing; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
chemical_list: D005782:Gels; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D002482:Cellulose
keywords: Bacterial cellulose gels; Composite gels; Thermo-responsiveness