Preparation and Properties of Carboxymethyl Cellulose / β-Cyclodextrin Hydrogel

Abstract Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) based hydrogels provide superabsorbent properties but show low mechanical properties. In order to overcome this problem, β-cyclodextrin (CD) is added to improve the mechanical strength of hydrogels. Moreover, CD-containing hydrogels have the potential to encapsulate antimicrobial essential oils or drugs and give a sustained release for medical applications to treat a variety of bacterial infectious diseases causing destruction to human health. In this work, the CMC/CD hydrogels were prepared by using epichlorohydrin as a chemical crosslinking agent. The objective of this research was to study the effect of the CMC/CD weight ratio at 6:1, 7:1, and 8:1 on morphology, mechanical properties and swelling ratio in water of the CMC/CD hydrogels compared with CMC hydrogel. The weight ratio of epichlorohydrin and CMC/CD was constant at 6:1. The morphology analysis of the CMC/CD hydrogels showed an irregular porous structure with the presence of -like structure. The addition of CD content led to an increase in compressive strength whereas the swelling ratio of the hydrogel decreased. The CMC/CD hydrogel at weight ratio of 7:1 provided the highest compressive strength and also retained swelling ability.