Preparation and characterization of thermosensitive chitosan/carboxymethylcellulose/scleroglucan nanocomposite hydrogels

The development of thermosensitive smart hydrogels with suitable thermosensitivity is of great importance for various biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. In this study, thermosensitive chitosan/carboxymethylcellulose/scleroglucan/montmorillonite (CHT/CMC/SGL/MMT) nanocomposite hydrogels were prepared for biomedical and pharmaceutical usages and characterized by using rheology, FTIR, SEM, EDX, TEM, XRD, TGA and swelling measurements. Exfoliated distribution of MMT in the network structure of hydrogels proved by XRD and TEM analyses caused a decrease in the pore size of hydrogels. Phase transition temperature of thermosensitive hydrogels was determined precisely by rheological measurements. In the presence of 5% MMT within hydrogel matrix, the gelling temperature of Sample 9 exhibited a decrease from 32.0 °C to 25.3 °C. It was found from TGA that among the CHT/CMC/SGL/MMT hydrogel materials the hydrogel system containing 5% MMT showed the highest decomposition temperature (175 °C). Furthermore, all hydrogel materials exhibited non-Fickian swelling behavior in distilled water and basic medium. The addition of MMT into the hydrogel matrix caused a significant decrease in the swelling amount of thermosensitive hydrogels. The results of this study indicate that thermosensitive CHT/CMC/SGL/MMT hydrogel materials may have potential applications in drug delivery, wound dressing and tissue engineering.