Sponges from Plasma Treated Cellulose Nanofibers Grafted with Poly(ethylene glycol)methyl Ether Methacrylate

Abstract

In this work, cellulose nanofibers (CNF) were surface treated by plasma and grafted with poly(ethylene glycol)methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMMA) for increasing mechanical strength and hydrophobicity. The surface characteristics of the sponges were studied by scanning electron microscopy, micro-computed tomography, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, which demonstrated successful surface modification. Plasma treatment applied to CNF suspension led to advanced defibrillation, and the resulting sponges (CNFpl) exhibited smaller wall thickness than CNF. The grafting of PEGMMA led to an increase in the wall thickness of the sponges and the number of larger pores when compared with the non-grafted counterparts. Sponges with increased hydrophobicity demonstrated by an almost 4 times increase in the water contact angle and better mechanical strength proved by 2.5 times increase in specific compression strength were obtained after PEGMMA grafting of plasma treated CNF. Cells cultivated on both neat and PEGMMA-grafted CNF sponges showed high viability (>99%). Remarkably, CNF grafted with PEGMMA showed better cell viability as compared with the untreated CNF sample; this difference is statistically significant (p < 0.05). In addition, the obtained sponges do not trigger an inflammatory response in macrophages, with TNF-α secretion by cells in contact with CNFpl, CNF-PEGMMA, and CNFpl-PEGMMA samples being lower than that observed for the CNF sample. All these results support the great potential of cellulose nanofibers surface treated by plasma and grafted with PEGMMA for biomedical applications.

Preparation of Protein A Membranes Using Propargyl Methacrylate-Based Copolymers and Copper-Catalyzed Alkyne–Azide Click Chemistry

“…Additionally, for the 100% PEGMEMA 300 sample, there is a prominent peak near 2874 cm −1 indicative of C-H stretching in PEG [ 20 ]. For PEGMEMA 300 , similar peaks have been reported in previous papers [ 21 , 22 ]. As the molar percentage of PEGMEMA 300 increases from 0 to 100% in the formulation, the PEG C-H stretching peak at 2874 cm −1 increases.…”

Nanocellulose Sponges Containing Antibacterial Basil Extract

“…The images recorded following the cytotoxicity tests for the unmodified NC (NC/BE 4/0) and the NC with the highest amount of BE (NC/BE 4/4) are shown in Figure 11. One can observe that the cells developed normally in the presence of pure nanocellulose, an already established safe material [59], as well as in the presence of the sample containing the maximum amount of BE. Other tests followed the effect of basil extract on SH-SY5Y cells and revealed that the integrity of the cell's membrane decreased with the addition of basil extract at a 2 mg/mL concentration [60].…”