Modification of mechanical properties of hydroxypropyl cellulose gel membrane

Hiroki, Akihiro; Sato, Toshihiro*; Nagasawa, Naotsugu; Taguchi, Mitsumasa; Tamada, Masao

Modification of mechanical properties of hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) gels by radiation crosslinking with functional monomers was investigated. The modified HPC hydrogels were prepared by electron beam irradiation to highly concentrated aqueous solutions containing HPC, 2-hydroxy methacrylate (HEMA) and tricosaethylene glycol dimethacrylate (23G). Tensile strength and elongation at break of HPC/HEMA/23G hydrogel (20/2.0/0.2 wt%) obtained at 50 kGy were 2.0 kg/cm and 124%, which exhibited about 2.0 times larger than these of the pure HPC hydrogel. Therefore, the HPC hydrogels with desired properties were obtained by radiation crosslinking HPC with monomers.