Eco-friendly Bacterial Cellulose/Castor Oil Hydrogels: Physicochemical Behavior and Biocompatibility

In the present work, novel thermoresponsive hydrogels were developed from renewable resources, and the influence of bacterial cellulose molar ratio on their chemical structure, thermal properties, swelling behavior, morphology, and biocompatibility was systematically investigated. The hydrogels were fabricated using castor oil, 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate, bacterial cellulose, N-isopropylacrylamide, and N,N'-Methylenebisacrylamide. Structural and physicochemical characterizations were performed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. The highest equilibrated swelling degree was achieved as 592.6% at the maximum bacterial cellulose content. SEM images revealed that the formation of spongy architecture is caused by the increase in the bacterial cellulose content. In vitro biocompatibility studies revealed that the hydrogel with the highest bacterial cellulose content exhibited the greatest cytocompatibility, with an IC50 value of 11.16 mg/ml. Overall, the findings demonstrate the successful fabrication of a novel bio-based thermoresponsive hydrogel through an eco-friendly approach, highlighting its potential for diverse biomedical applications.