Evaluation of in vitro cytotoxicity and properties of polydimethylsiloxane-based polyurethane/crystalline nanocellulose bio-nanocomposites.

Polydimethylsiloxane-based polyurethane (PU)/crystalline nanocellulose (CNC) bio-nanocomposites were produced via in-situ pre-polymer approach. Also, Hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) as aliphatic diisocyanate monomer and 1,4-butanediol (BDO) as aliphatic chain extender were used. CNC was incorporated into PU matrix to prepare different PU/CNC bio-nanocomposites. Effect of CNC content on the properties of the bio-nanocomposites such as thermal, thermophysical, microstructure and in vitro cytotoxicity was investigated. According to the results, incorporating CNCs into PU matrix significantly affected the hydrogen bonding between different microstructures of matrix. Adding different amounts of CNCs affected the thermal and thermophysical properties of bio-nanocomposites. Also, higher amounts of CNCs resulted in lower crystallization of hard segment. Neat PU matrix showed a moderate cytotoxic behavior against human fibroblast cells. However, incorporating CNCs significantly improved the cytotoxicity behavior of bio-nanocomposites where by addition of 2 wt. % of CNCs, cell viability increased to 90-100%. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.