Synthesis and Photocrosslinking Reaction of N-Allylcarbamoylmethyl Cellulose Leading to Hydrogel

Summary The reaction of the carboxymethyl cellulose sodium salt (Na-CMC) (degrees of substitution (DS) = 1.2) with N-hydroxysuccinimide (Su-OH) in the presence of 1-hydroxybenzotriazole and 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC) was carried out in water to obtain the Su-OH ester of carboxymethyl cellulose, Su-CMC, with the DS values of 0.19 – 1.04. N-Allylcarbamoylmethyl cellulose (Allyl-CMC), which was prepared from the reaction of Su-CMC with an excess amount of allylamine, was crosslinked by UV-irradiation. In addition, the photocrosslinked Allyl-CMC film was swollen with water to form a hydrogel having a relatively high water-swelling property, e.g., the degree of swelling (ds) was ca. 360% for Allyl-CMC with the DS of 0.93.