Supermolecular structure and properties of cellulose/gelatin composite films

Natural polymers have attracted much attention because of the rising demand for materials with features of renewability,non toxicity, biocompatibility and biodegradability. Cellulose and gelatin were the two abundant resources from plant and animal,and it was significant that new biomaterials were prepared by using these two natural polymers. In this work, a series of cellulose/gelatin (C/G) films were prepared in NaOH/ urea aqueous solution via a simple, low cost, green pathway. To overcome the disadvantages ( brittleness, poor water resistance ) of the protein material, gelatin was combined with the regenerated cellulose ( RC ) film to construct cellulose/gelatin composite materials. The strong interaction between the two macromolecules was confirmed to exist in the composite materials, leading to the improvement of the water resistance of gelatin. Cross-linking with glutaraldehyde further improved the mechanical properties of the composite materials. Their structure and properties were characterized by element analysis,FTIR,ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) , C solidNMR,scanning electron microscopy (SEM) ,tensile testing and swelling test. The results revealed that good compatibility existed between cellulose and gelatin in the composite films. The mechanical properties and the water resistance of the crosslinked films were significantly improved. Furthmore. by proliferation of C0S7 cells on the surface of the C/G films, they exhibited good biocompatibility, supporting cell adhesion and growth.