Cellulose Hydrogels; Fabrication, Properties, and Their Application to Biocompatible and Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Cellulose hydrogels made of agro-industrial bagasses of sugarcane and other are introduced in this chapter for the fabrication, properties, and their the biocompatible materials with cytocompatibility for tissue engineering. To obtain the cellulose hydrogels, firstly cellulose was regenerated from bagasse wastes by chemical pretreatments and bleaching. The renewable cellulose was converted to hydrogels by phase inversion process under ethanol vapor. To evaluate the biocompatibility, the hydrogel was implanted in the intraperitoneal of mice. The results were shown as small influence of the implanted hydrogel on the growth of mice. The implanted hydrogel was somewhat decreased in the molecular weight in 3–4 weeks, meaning biodegradable materials. However, the hydrogels kept enough mechanical strength in the living body. This indicated that the cellulose hydrogel regenerated waste bagasse showed acceptable biocompatibility and durability in the body. In addition, hydrogels are excellent in regeneration of cytocompatible property for tissue regeneration.