Fast Contact
of Solid–Liquid Interface Created
High Strength Multi-Layered Cellulose Hydrogels with Controllable
Size
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Abstract
Novel onion-like and multi-layered
tubular cellulose hydrogels
were constructed, for the first time, from the cellulose solution
in a 7% NaOH/12% urea aqueous solvent by changing the shape of the
gel cores. In our findings, the contacting of the cellulose solution
with the surface of the agarose gel rod or sphere loaded with acetic
acid led to the close chain packing to form immediately a gel layer,
as a result of the destruction of the cellulose inclusion complex
by acid through inducing the cellulose self-aggregation. Subsequently,
multi-layered cellulose hydrogels were fabricated via a multi-step
interrupted gelation process. The size, layer thickness and inter-layer
space of the multi-layered hydrogels could be controlled by adjusting
the cellulose concentrations, the gel core diameter and the contacting
time of the solid–liquid interface. The multi-layered cellulose
hydrogels displayed good architectural stability and solvent resistance.
Moreover, the hydrogels exhibited high compressive strength and excellent
biocompatibility. L929 cells could adhere and proliferate on the surface
of the layers and in interior space, showing great potential as tissue
engineering scaffolds and cell culture carrier. This work opens up
a new avenue for the construction of the high strength multi-layered
cellulose hydrogels formed from inner to outside via a fast contact
of solid–liquid interface