title: Ion-Mediated Gelation of Aqueous Suspensions of Cellulose Nanocrystals.
abstract: Nanofibrillar hydrogels are an important class of biomaterials with applications as catalytic scaffolds, artificial extracellular matrixes, coatings, and drug delivery materials. In the present work, we report the results of a comprehensive study of nanofibrillar hydrogels formed by cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) in the presence of cations with various charge numbers and ionic radii. We examined sol-gel transitions in aqueous CNC suspensions and the rheological and structural properties of the CNC hydrogels. At a particular CNC concentration, with increasing charge and cation size, the dynamic shear moduli and mesh size in the hydrogel increased. These effects were ascribed to a stronger propensity of CNCs for side-by-side association. The resulting hydrogels had an isotropic nanofibrillar structure. A combination of complementary techniques offered insight into structure-property relationships of CNC hydrogels, which are important for their potential applications.
authors.affiliation: †Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 Saint George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada.
authors.forename: Mokit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chau
authors.affiliation: †Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 Saint George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada.
authors.forename: Shivanthi E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Sriskandha
authors.affiliation: †Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 Saint George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada.
authors.forename: Dmitry
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pichugin
authors.affiliation: †Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 Saint George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada.
authors.forename: Héloïse
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thérien-Aubin
authors.affiliation: ‡Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States.
authors.forename: Dmitro
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nykypanchuk
authors.affiliation: §FPInnovations, 570 St. Jean Boulevard, Pointe-Claire, Québec H9R 3J9, Canada.
authors.forename: Grégory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chauve
authors.affiliation: §FPInnovations, 570 St. Jean Boulevard, Pointe-Claire, Québec H9R 3J9, Canada.
authors.forename: Myriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Méthot
authors.affiliation: §FPInnovations, 570 St. Jean Boulevard, Pointe-Claire, Québec H9R 3J9, Canada.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bouchard
authors.affiliation: ‡Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States.
authors.forename: Oleg
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Gang
authors.affiliation: †Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 Saint George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada.|∥Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, 200 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E5, Canada.|⊥The Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, 4 Taddle Creek Road, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G9, Canada.
authors.forename: Eugenia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kumacheva
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry*; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012212:Rheology; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D013535:Suspensions / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020100:Hydrogels; D013535:Suspensions; D002482:Cellulose